


Starting Over

by adayathogwarts (JustAnotherMaybe), JustAnotherMaybe



Series: Harry Rogers and Earth's Mightiest Heroes [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Accidentally becoming a dad, BAMF Clint Barton, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Harry Needs a Hug, Harry Potter Gets a Hug, Harry Potter gets Lots of Love, Harry is a pure child who will be protected at all costs, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Steve Roger is a Dad, there's some fluff, twice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:20:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26641345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherMaybe/pseuds/adayathogwarts, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherMaybe/pseuds/JustAnotherMaybe
Summary: Harry Potter hadn't really had a great life so far. In fact, the word awful could pretty aptly describe it. However, on one fateful day, Tony Stark and friends show up for a business deal at #4 Privet Drive. Harry didn't know much about the Avengers, but he'd heard that they  were Earth's Mightiest Heroes. He had never dared hope that meant they'd actually be his heroes too. Turns out, odds of it happening were better than he thought.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton/Steve Rogers, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Jane Foster/Thor, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Harry Rogers and Earth's Mightiest Heroes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938190
Comments: 67
Kudos: 324





	1. Avengers, Surrey's Mightiest Heroes

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously, Harry Potter/things from the HP Universe/ Marvel characters are not mine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So, this is my first time trying to cross these two worlds.
> 
> For this chapter, I wanna give a few warnings - this talks about Harry's abuse. It'll likely be the most open of all of the chapters, but any chapter that could have triggering content will have a warning before the chapter begins. Here's the warning for this one.

The days where Vernon Dursley had business meetings were easily the worst days in the world. To begin, Harry Potter (at least, that’s what he thought his name maybe was – he still wasn’t quite sure) was expected to get up, clean the kitchen, cook breakfast, and have everything served by exactly 8:42 a.m. He wasn’t quite sure why that specific time was so important – he wasn’t allowed to ask.

Really, he wasn’t allowed to speak. Definitely not if not spoken to, and certainly not anything meaningful. He was allowed words like “yes sir”, or “no sir”. “Thank you”. And “please” – that one was especially important, even if he never got anything he asked for. He felt like he could probably say an awful lot, but he never really had the chance. He figured he might get off track or incite chaos in the classroom – that’s what the teachers said, whenever he spoke. Petunia Dursley seemed to be friends with all the teachers in the school. Harry knew that they said he was a bad boy, and that he couldn’t be trusted to answer questions. He didn’t want to be a bad boy though – really!

At least Petunia didn’t wear a belt. This morning, Harry was particularly sore from a slightly overcooked sausage he’d served the night before. Granted, he didn’t know that was the reason – it’s not like Vernon ever really told him why it was happening. He just screamed words like “useless” or “freak.” Harry was also allowed those words – but only if he said them after the phrase “I am.” That was part of why Harry didn’t really speak.

On this particular morning, Harry was extra careful to set out the toast the right way. He’d finished by 8:40 – plenty of time to go and stand in his corner. In order for Vernon, Petunia, and their biological child, Dudley, to “properly enjoy their breakfast,” Harry was expected to stand in the corner and watch as they ate. According to Vernon, freaks weren’t allowed at the table.

After they ate, Harry would be tasked with cleaning the dishes. Occasionally, if he was really sneaky, he was able to sneak a few crumbs. If he wasn’t sneaky, he wouldn’t eat for the next 48 hours. He got fairly good at being sneaky.

The rest of the day would be filled with twice as many tasks as a normal day. He’d spend a few hours outside, tending to the garden. Harry didn’t really know why, but he was expected to spend time in the garden if it was summer or winter – but, sometimes, they let him wear a thin jacket! It was one of Dudley’s old fall coats, if Harry remembered right. Not that that was a problem – Harry’s memory was fantastic.

Aside from the gardening, Harry was also expected to do all of the dusting, even in the rooms the business guests never went. He also had to fluff all the pillows, clean all the couches, wipe down the TV he was never allowed to watch, and clean his mattress. Or rather, Harry was tasked with cleaning the thing they called a mattress – in reality, no one remembered where the small foam came from.

Of course, if Harry washed his mattress, then that meant that he wouldn’t have anything to sleep on for two nights. Those nights were extra bad. Harry liked his mattress – it was the only thing that wasn’t hard and painful in his life. Comparably, anyway. It wasn’t a very good mattress.

Harry was not expected to cook dinner on these nights – no, that would put him at risk of being seen by the businesspeople. Instead, he was told to return to his room under the cupboard. If he so much as breathed too loudly, then he’d barely live to regret it the next day. The boy who’d been Harry just after his fifth birthday didn’t understand that. This Harry, however, had learned the lesson well-enough that he’d do his best to never need a refresher.

Harry also wasn’t allowed to go to school on these days. That was a bit of a bonus, actually. Dudley liked to spend his time chasing Harry, particularly at school. Harry wasn’t allowed to run so fast that Dudley couldn’t catch him, though. Then he’d get punished at school, for bullying Dudley. That didn’t compare to the punishments he’d get at home. Harry learned quickly to just let Dudley catch up to him. Sure, it may leave a few bruises, but it would be far better than a broken bone.

Young Harry had broken too many bones to still be considered young.

But today, he was lucky! He didn’t have to worry about that, because he got to spend the day cleaning. By the time Vernon had returned, Harry was back in his cupboard under the stairs, quietly waiting for the day to end.

Or for the days to end.

He wasn’t quite sure anymore. At some point, the end of the day, the end of days, and the end of his days all started to seem quite appealing. Not that Harry felt like chasing after anything of the sort – just as time passed during his days, he knew that time would pass during his life.

Vernon wasn’t immortal. Harry knew that, the minute he complained about his bad knees. Harry had been seven, and his world had changed.

His tormenter wasn’t going to live forever.

At nine years old, Harry Potter clung to the dream of seeing the day where the Dursleys were no more. Maybe he’d make himself some toast, to celebrate his freedom.

〜 〜 〜

In the aftermath of the attack on New York City, the Avengers had banded together. It wasn’t easy, but it was slowly starting to happen.

The first to return to the tower had been Bruce. Then again, that had been immediate – from the minute they left the shwarma place, Bruce decided that he’d live in the tower. Tony wasn’t the easiest person to live with, but he didn’t care about Bruce’s green little problem. It didn’t matter who you were, if you didn’t mind the big green rage monster, then Bruce thought you were probably a decent person.

Second, surprisingly, was Natasha. After finishing the operation she’d started before S.H.I.E.L.D. needed her to save the world from aliens, she’d decided to visit Manhattan. Tony hadn’t really expected her to show up. Also, he was a bit bitter that she’d pretended to be his assistant – he didn’t trust people before then, but she’d certainly made it worse.

She’d made it better by ending an argument he’d been having with Pepper, though. Although she still had a lot to learn about the truth of genuine interactions, she knew a lot about anger, aggression, and a fight. While her preferred method of ending a conflict ended with the other person having lost a fair amount of blood, she proved to know how to stop others for getting to that point. Since that day, Tony had begrudgingly accepted her into the pack.

Unsurprisingly, Clinton Barton, the man with the bow-and-arrow-and-not-so-glowing-blue-eyes-anymore, followed Natasha within the week. After reviewing the security footage, Tony was pretty sure that he’d snuck into the vents the same day that Romanoff moved in. Tony didn’t know what convinced the bird-man-child-assassin to come down from his rafters, but he found he didn’t care. When not possessed by an Asgardian god of mischief and chaos, Clint was actually pretty fantastic.

Then came Steve. That was hard for Tony, if he was being honest – which he never was, unless he was talking to Pepper at 2 in the morning and neither of them could sleep. It wasn’t just his Iron Man mask he chose to hide behind, after all.

The reason Steve was the hardest is because he was so earnest. After the mess that was the moments leading up to the attack on the helicarrier, Steven Grant Rogers seemed genuinely remorseful. Tony was not used to genuine apologies from near-strangers, even if they were strangers he’d heard about his whole life thanks to his father’s unhealthy obsession with finding the man. Although he never said anything, Steve knew – so he proved he could be taken at face value. Tony wasn’t used to that, either.

Thor did his own thing. He showed up once or twice, but he was busy dealing with Loki in Asgard to properly spend time with the team. When he did join them, he made sure that the others were full of laughter and happiness – true to his calling, he electrified any room he was in, giving everyone the energy to keep celebrating. Even if they were just celebrating the simple fact that they were alive, Thor saw to it that it was a celebration well-enjoyed.

Avengers Tower quickly became their base of operations – Nat and Clint took their missions from there, Steve… did whatever it was nonagenarians did with their free time, and Bruce continued to experiment. Thor, even if he wasn’t there all the time, would make everyone flower crowns and sing Asgardian battle songs in the living room whenever he could. And Tony, well. Tony turned it into the seat of his new business.

～ ～ ～

“Remind me again why I care about this company?”

“Because you want to work with them to develop green technology that will promote clean energy in England, Tony,” Natasha said, having returned to her role as a P.A.

Whenever she or Clint got back from a mission, they felt it was important to spend time with the team. More often than not, when it came to spending time with Tony, it meant bodyguard duty. They both were glad for the chance to make sure their friends were safe, so they never complained. The joy they found in knowing the people who were slowly becoming their family weren’t in danger was enough.

“Right, but why this company?”

“Grunnings drill manufacturing is one of England’s top polluters. You, being the face for clean energy, don’t like that. Ergo, we’re here.”

“And why are we… here?”

Here, of course, was Little Whinging, Surrey. More exactly, they were pulling into a number 4 Privet Drive. This wasn’t the usual place for business deals.

“Mr. Vernon Dursley is one of the more important people in the company. He felt it would be best for you to experience… it says here he wanted you to experience ‘proper British charm.’”

“Clint, how much would I have to pay you to shoot me?”

Steve couldn’t help but chuckle. There’s no way it would be that bad.

From the driver’s seat, Clint called back, “Even you’re not rich enough to get me to willingly shoot you, Tin Can. Come on, get in, eat food, get out.”

“What if it’s poisoned? Can’t we use that as an excuse?”

“You wish Tony, you wish.”

Silencing his grumbles before getting out of the car, Tony Stark put on his billion-dollar persona. If he had to be here, then he’d do it in true Tony Stark fashion.

Chaotically.

～ ～ ～

The Dursleys were very proud to be hosting four of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Dudley had been quite polite, they thought – their little Duddlikins really was a perfect angel. He’d only demanded their autographs three times, and he’d even gotten them! Vernon couldn’t have been prouder of his son.

He’d told them that. Along with his famous golf joke – it was the one he broke out at every meal. He credited it with cinching him so many deals!

～ ～ ～

Clinton Barton was called Hawkeye for a reason. He didn’t miss things. If you were stupid enough to leave your secrets out in plain sight, then Clint would be the first to see them. He’d taught Nat a few of his tricks, but no one was as good as he was. Maybe it came from being in the circus? Maybe it came from running from the circus and trying to stay alive? Either way, he was glad he had the skill.

Because there was something seriously off about this house. Something didn’t add up, in a way that made his skin crawl and his stomach churn.

It started with a few flecks of brown matter on the coffee table. To the untrained eye, they would have probably dismissed it as a bit of dirt.

To Hawkeye, who’d spent more than his fair share bleeding and even more time making others bleed, it was clearly dried blood. Old, too. At that angle… if the pit in his stomach was anything to go by, then something was wrong here.

Also, when the… really, the only word he had for the creature was troll… yes, troll of a son came downstairs, he made sure to jump on three of the stairs. Tony was still working on StarkAids, but Nat had heard something. Dud…something had blamed it on a cat – curious, as there was far too little cat-hair anywhere in the parts of the house they’d seen. Cats shed.

So where was the cat fur?

And so, as the meeting went on, and on, and as Tony was as Tony Stark as he could manage, Clint scanned the room. The good part about being a bodyguard was that you weren’t there to think.

Soon enough, they were walking out the door. A look at Natasha told him that she found the place suspect as well – if the man had two children, as the background check had shown, then where was the other child? There were countless photos of the Father Troll and younger troll, but none with the other in his care.

Not to mention the blood on the coffee table.

The sound from a cat that clearly didn’t exist.

Something was wrong.

He wasn’t getting into the car until he figured out what it was.

～ ～ ～

Tony hated men like Vernon. They were the bullies on the schoolyard playground who’d gone on to make other lives miserable from the positions of power they held within their companies.

Something had clearly hit on his friends’ radar – Tony may not be as observant as Hawkguy, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of the people with him. Both Clint and Natasha’s tenseness were being broadcast loud enough to see it from miles away, if you knew what to look for.

When Steve stopped him from getting into the car, with a finger to his lips, Tony complied.

When Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Captain America all seem to think there’s an issue, then there’s going to be an issue. It’s obvious, at least to Tony.

Tony’s smart like that.

In a hushed voice, he said, “We leave, drive around the block. Turn our lights off – the engine’s pretty silent already. Come back. Sound good?”

Three nods later, their plan was in motion.

～ ～ ～

Harry knew he’d be punished for coughing. The minute Dudley jumped on that one step, he knew it was game over. He wanted to cry – but he knew he couldn’t. If he cried, then he’d bring even more attention to himself. He didn’t want to make what was coming any worse than it would already be.

So, when Vernon Dursley yanked open the door to his cupboard, belt in hand, Harry’s heart sank.

There was no denying the look on his uncle’s face.

He knew not to scream. It only made it worse.

Vernon, however, seemed to have forgot his cardinal rule.

“Freak!”

_lash._

“Worthless!”

_lash._

“Useless!”

_lash._

He’d switched to using the belt buckle, and Harry couldn’t help but whimper in pain.

“Waste of spa… What the hell?”

Harry looked up and saw a woman with bright red hair, the color of fire, with eyes as green as emeralds. There was something small and black in her hand.

There was a bang, and his ears hurt from the noise. Uncle Vernon had talked about inviting others over to hurt him, in ways Vernon wouldn’t dare consider doing himself.

Most of the time, Harry Potter looked forward to the piece of toast he’d enjoy the day he had his freedom. Now, however, he hoped the afterlife would have toast too.

～ ～ ～

It was Steve who heard the deranged man’s shouts first, but it was Natasha who’d been the first to get to the door. With a kick, she bared their living room for all to see.

The sight she’d opened it to made her almost wish she hadn’t.

The grotesque man, with his belt in hand, had a look of morbid glee plastered on his face as the belt-buckle became more and more coated with red. When he saw her, though, his face morphed into one of horror, followed by one of outrage. In her periphery, she saw the wife and other child on the top of the stairs, looking horrified that their secret was out.

The child bent over the table, bare back – and all its scars – exposed for the world to see, merely whimpered.

“You listen here, you whore! You get out of my house this instant!”

Natasha Romanoff had heard worse.

_bang_.

She’d gone for a non-lethal shot. Enough to make him hurt like hell, but not enough to kill him.

She’d let Clint have those honours. She knew how Clint felt about child abuse.

She’d simply enjoy the show.

～ ～ ～

Steve was conflicted – on one hand, he wished Nat hadn’t opened fire. On the other hand, he felt it was probably just in this situation.

However, his moral dilemma could wait. There was a child there that needed immediate attention.

Stepping over the man, whose face had reminded Steve of a walrus, to bring the boy into his arms, he felt for a pulse. The boy’s heart beat stronger than it had any right to, after such a horrible attack.

As he carefully picked the small child up – this kid couldn’t have been older than six, judging by how small he was, he heard the words that made his heart shatter.

“I’m sorry I’m a freak. Please don’t hurt me.”

It was barely a whisper, yet each Avenger heard it as if it had been a shout.

The body in his arms went limp – this small boy, whose name Steve didn’t even know, passed out.

～ ～ ～

Tony had his phone out.

He was going to make this man pay.

But first, he needed an ambulance. There was a kid who needed help. From the look of his back, it seemed like he’d needed help for a while.

They’d avenge the kid later.

They were the Avengers. It’s what they do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll hopefully have the next chapter up next week! The goal is to do a chapter a week, if not more, depending on how life works out with COVID and everything.
> 
> I'll be updating tags/relationships/characters as I go!


	2. At Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry wakes up in the hospital, and nothing makes much sense. Much anxiety, and a few questions later, the Boy-Who-Lived's life changed drastically. Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, warnings for this one are - hospitals, anxiety, and then discussing Harry's abuse.

The first thought that crossed his mind was that this room was far too bright. Harry had heard stories about people following the light – had he done that?

He wasn’t quite sure he was alive. He knew he wasn’t at the Dursleys’, which didn’t leave many places he could go, if he was being honest. He knew they’d never take him to hospital, even though it definitely looked like he was in a hospital. Did the Great Beyond look like a hospital?

Huh. Maybe the nurses were angels? Harry had always wanted to see a hospital – he’d heard that’s where you could go to feel better. He’d been excited at the prospect of a touch that didn’t hurt, or of words that were kind, when the teacher had first taught them about what a hospital was.

However, the idea that he’d ever get to visit a hospital was dashed when he found out that you had to pay to stay in a hospital. Even if it wasn’t much, because of something called the NHS (which Harry supposed stood for Nice Healthy Something), the Dursleys would never spend money on him.

That’s why he’d never owned clothes of his own. Or toys. Or was allowed to each much.

Whoever said that money couldn’t solve problems clearly had never lived under a cupboard. Right?

Harry supposed he should look around – if this was Heaven, he really wanted to see what it was like. He also needed to find someone to ask questions to. Namely, why did Heaven look so much like a hospital? Slowly turning his head, he found himself staring into the deep, blue eyes of a large, muscular man sat next to him.

“Aaaaah!”

Harry whipped his head around – only to see another man, much slimmer with brown eyes.

“Aaaaah!”

Not Heaven. Not Heaven. Nope. Harry didn’t think that Heaven would be filled with strange men who sat and watched kids sleep.

That sounded way too much like what Uncle Vernon had said would happen to him if he didn’t behave.

Wait. If he wasn’t in Heaven, then did that mean he was in Hell?

Did that mean he hadn’t been good? He’d tried though! So hard! He’d done everything he could – he’d cooked, and cleaned, and dusted, and washed the car, and let Dudley beat him, and let Vernon hit him, and he’d only cried when no one could see him or hear him!

Against his wishes, he could feel tears starting to pool. No! He’d be good! He wasn’t going to cry, he wasn’t allowed to! If he was good, maybe they’d let him go to Heaven. He didn’t think it worked that way, but he’d try his best to be good.

～ ～ ～

The kid’s heartrate monitor was spiking, and Steve looked at Tony, panic in his eyes.

“Doc, you gotta get in here! Hurry, there’s something wrong!”

～ ～ ～

Tony and Steve looked at the small, sleeping form. After his brief panic, the young boy had been given a drug that made him fall asleep. Natasha, having previously conducted a background check on the family before meeting with them, had told them that his name was Harry James Potter.

According to what she’d found, Harry should be getting ready to celebrate his 9th birthday. However, the kid barely looked a day over five. Therefore, it was hardly a shock when whatever tests the doctors had conducted revealed that the boy was severely malnourished and incredibly dehydrated. They’d set him on several pills, hoping to finally give Harry’s body the nourishment it needed.

They’d also wanted to call the authorities on the Dursleys. However, the Avengers had been the ones to bring the boy in, and they promised they had a plan. Steve could be very convincing when he wanted to. Besides, he’d already sent Nat and Clint to address that situation.

The more important issue at hand was the fate of this small child.

Looking at Tony, he asked, “What do you think we need to do?”

“I’m not sure, Spangles. It’s not like we can let Short Stack here go back to… whoever those people were. His aunt, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what Nat said.”

“I suppose he’d end up in the system then, right?”

Thinking back to his conversations with Clint about his childhood, Steve said, “Yeah, probably. I don’t think Clint would let either of us live if we let that happen, though.”

“What? Why?”

“Not my story to tell, Tony. You’ll have to ask Clint for that one.”

Contrary to popular belief, Tony knew when to take a hint. He may be a nosy asshole, but he knew better than to hurt this team. They were family – much better than the one he’d been born with.

“Okay. So, looks like we’re adopting him.”

The look of shock on Steve’s face was… priceless, if Tony was being honest. Spangles clearly hadn’t thought about it – Tony, however, had run through every possible plan twice.

Steve, to his credit, regained his composure remarkably quickly. “Shouldn’t we ask him what he thinks, when he wakes up?”

～ ～ ～

Harry wasn’t sure when he realized he wasn’t dead, but he was pretty sure he wasn’t dead. Probably? He didn’t really give it too much thought, but he didn’t seem dead. So, he probably wasn’t dead.

Which was good and bad. Good thing was, he wasn’t in Hell. Bad thing was, there were still a lot of strangers around. He didn’t really like that. Uncle Vernon had once let his boss have a go with the belt, so strangers weren’t super high on Harry’s list of “Not Bad Things.” In fact, considering that most strangers he interacted with him were either his teachers – so women corrupted by Petunia against him before he met them – or Vernon’s bosses, he really did not like strangers.

So, without opening his eyes, he decided to lie there. If he played dead, then maybe he’d get away with… something? Harry hadn’t really thought that far yet, if he was being honest.

His plan was foiled, however, when a deep voice said, “Well, he’s awake.”

Dang it, there went that plan. Harry couldn’t help but be hopeful though – this voice didn’t sound particularly mean.

“Hey kiddo. How’re you feeling,” a softer voice, to his left, asked.

The Dursleys had never called him “kiddo.” He couldn’t help it, but he laughed – the name kiddo was funny! Right? Maybe he’d hit his head.

“You hit your head on the coffee table. We got you to the hospital as soon as we could.”

Opening his eyes, he saw four very big people around him. None of them looked very mean though, and everyone who’d spoken seemed to have really funny accents. How were they reading his mind though? Maybe he did die. Did that mean they’d let him have toast? He really wanted to try toast. And they’d taken him to hospital! The Dursleys had never done that before!

“Uh, that’s a lot. Anyone know where to start?”

Harry didn’t have his glasses, so he didn’t really know what any of them looked like. They were all sorta fuzzy looking – they’d backed up a fair bit since the last time he’d woken up. At least, the Big One and the… Not As Big One had. He needed to give the other one a better name.

“Anyone know where the kid’s glasses are? And I think he means you and Tony, Cap.”

Bigger and Blond said that, Harry thought. This one seemed a bit taller.

A softer voice asked, “Harry, do you know where you are?”

Harry thought that was a silly question. He was probably dead, or he was probably in hospital. But he thought he’d probably have seen his parents if he were dead, so he was probably in hospital. This woman had red hair… or at least, it looked kinda like she did. Harry once saw a photo of his mum – it’d been kept in his cupboard. Petunia had probably forgotten it was there. His mum had red hair too! But that didn’t explain who these guys were. They hadn’t hurt him, so that was good. Wait. She’d asked a question.

“Fu…,” Bigger and Blond started to say, before Maybe Mum elbowed him,”..dge. Just what drugs do they have this kid on?”

Harry thought fudge probably tasted good. Not that he’d ever had it. Maybe this place had fudge?

Maybe he’d had some fudge and that’s why he felt all funny?

He felt funny.

Wait. Wasn’t there a question he was supposed to be answering…

“You already did, kiddo.”

Could they read his mind? What? Harry was very confused.

“No, kiddo. You’re just saying what you’re thinking.”

Harry disagreed. He thought he’d know if he was speaking. Harry knew not to speak out of turn – he hadn’t said please or thank you once yet! So clearly he wasn’t speaking, because otherwise his uncle would hit him. Since no one had hit him yet, then he wasn’t speaking. Silly Maybe Mum.

Wait, no. She couldn’t be his mum. He was British, so wouldn’t his mum have a British accent too? Maybe Mum had a funny accent. That meant Maybe Mum was Not Mum.

Okay, that’s one problem solved.

Harry was quite proud of having solved a problem. The Dursleys always called him a problem, and he didn’t really know how to solve that one. It felt good to be able to take care of a problem.

“You’re not a problem, kid.”

This voice didn’t sound as happy. It came from… Big and Blond. His voice was deep. But, apparently he wasn’t very… informated? Was that the word? Informated. Yeah. He wasn’t informated. See, Harry had always been told he was a problem. So, Harry was a problem. He didn’t really know what he’d done to be a problem. He didn’t really want to be a problem, either – however, he was.

He didn’t want to live in the cupboard either. He was scared of spiders, and there were a lot of them down there. It was also dark, and he didn’t like that much either. He still lived under there though. Clearly wanting and being weren’t the same thing.

He could deal with this later.

～ ～ ～

With Harry asleep once more, the team looked around at each other. No one really knew how to process what they’d just heard – least of all Nat, who couldn’t fathom being a mother.

She also couldn’t fathom a child living in a cupboard. She wasn’t alone. Clint was clearly bursting with rage – the only reason he hadn’t broken something was because of Harry. Tony had looked sick the minute Harry called himself a problem, and he still wasn’t looking great. Steve looked horrified.

Looks like it was up to her to get the ball rolling. “Okay, so. Adoption. Tony, get Pepper out here.”

～ ～ ～

Harry felt remarkably less… weird. He still wasn’t quite sure where he was – that wasn’t exactly an issue, though. After feeling around for his glasses, he quickly put them on and opened his eyes.

Now that he could see, he decided to take a look around his surroundings. He seemed to be in a private room of sorts. It definitely wasn’t the cupboard. It was far too bright for that. He was alone, but he recognized a flash of red hair through the window. Looking closely, he saw that Big and Blonde, Bigger and Blond, and Not So Big Or Blond were all outside. It sounded like there was an argument.

Harry had been rather calm, he thought, until he heard a voice that he’d rather hoped he wouldn’t.

Aunt Petunia, in her shrill, incredibly unpleasant-sounding voice, screamed, “But the blood! The boy’s blood! We need him in our home! He has to come back! It’s not safe without his blood!”

Taking a moment to think about it, Harry wondered if he’d ever considered the place home. That was an issue for another day, though.

Looking back out at the scene – through a window! His room had a window!

Wait. How was he supposed to pay for this room? Were Big and Blonde, Bigger and Blond, Not So Big Or Blond, and Not Maybe Mum involved with that?

Harry could feel himself start to panic – the idea that he’d potentially have to pay this spacious room was quite upsetting, particularly as he was incredibly broke. He could feel himself start to hyperventilate at the thought of how royally ruined he’d be. He didn’t want to go to prison!

Wait. Prison had food, right? And he was used to small spaces. Maybe he’d have a roommate! Would he get along with them, though? Were prisons separated by boys and girls? What about people who weren’t one or the other? Harry had heard about boys really being girls, and girls really being boys, and boys and girls being neither boy nor girl. Uncle Vernon had been going on about it, just like he normally went on and on about how Harry was… well, Uncle Vernon had used some very mean words.

If Uncle Vernon didn’t like them, then that was enough for Harry – they deserved some extra love. Harry knew that Uncle Vernon wasn’t the only Uncle Vernon in the world, and he hoped that all those children knew they were good.

No one had ever told Harry he was loved. Panic attack at the risk of going to jail avoided, he now was very concerned about these children. What if no one told them they were loved? Harry found that to be very bad. Very bad indeed. If no one else was going to love them, then Harry figured he should do it. He already did cooking and cleaning and washing and all the other chores, but that was because he had to. Very rarely did he get to do things because he wanted to – even if it meant Vernon would give him extra hits if he found out, Harry figured it was worth it.

Hearing a crash, Harry was brought back to reality. Petunia, it seemed, had made a mad dash for it, trying to get to Harry. It didn’t go as well as she’d hoped, however, because Not Maybe Mum was currently sitting on her.

Huh. Adults were weird. Harry knew that already though, from when he’d had to meet Mrs. Figg. She was obsessed with cats. Plus, there were Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. The way they treated Dudley? Yeah, adults were weird.

It was interesting, however, to watch Petunia get dragged away – it didn’t look like normal police. They had badges on, kinda like the one Bigger and Blond was wearing. Realising he still didn’t know their names, Harry began to wonder what their real names would be.

～ ～ ～

It was in this state, five minutes later, when the Avengers saw that Harry was awake. More than that, he was currently pacing around his room.

“Uh, Cap, isn’t Short Stack supposed to stay in bed?”

“Shit.”

Clint couldn’t help but laugh. “Did Cap just say shit?”

～ ～ ～

Harry had come to the conclusion that these people obviously needed names and had begun the process of coming up with useful ones when the Avengers walked through the door.

Big and Blond, whose new name Harry still hadn’t figured out yet, was the first to speak. “Hey there, kiddo. How are you feeling?”

Harry stopped. By this point, they’d stuck around for a long time. Harry didn’t know how long he’d been in hospital, but he imagined it was probably longer than a few hours. Did that mean these people were still strangers? While Harry knew not to talk to strangers, were they still strangers? Having not spent much time outside of the cupboard, Harry really didn’t know the answer to these questions. If they were strangers, then Harry was supposed to lie, run, scream, and then go back home – at least, that’s what his teachers had said. However, going back home didn’t strike Harry as a great idea.

Great. They weren’t strangers then.

“I’m… I mean, I’m kinda sore. But not super sore. I’m really confused though. I don’t know your names, so I gave you new names. You’re… You’re Big and Blond. I’m not sure if that’s your actual name. Probably not. That’s a stupid name. I’m sorry for being stupid,” Harry said, voice getting quieter as he spoke.

Fortunately for Steve, and, maybe, unfortunately for Harry, Captain America’s super-hearing meant that he’d heard perfectly. It was quite handy – without it, he might have never heard Harry whimpering throughout their business meeting, only a week ago. “That’s not stupid! I’m Steve. This is Clint, that’s Tony, and the redhead is Natasha. I’m curious though, what names did you give us? I kinda like Big and Blond,” he said, with a smile.

“Uh… Clint? Yeah, Clint. He was Bigger And Blond. You know, because he’s so tall. Tony was Not So Big Or Blond, and then Nat…asha. Natasha. Natasha was Maybe Mom, but then she was Not Maybe Mom, because she has an American accent. But I’m not American. Plus, my mom’s dead. I’m kinda glad she’s not my mom, because then I’d be sad that I didn’t know her. I’m not glad my mom’s dead though.”

Hearing that broke Steve’s heart. He knew Nat, with her advanced hearing, had likely heard the same thing. Between the heavy weight on the kid’s shoulders and the ease at which he spoke about something so sad, Steve knew they’d made the right choice in adopting the little one.

“What’s your name, little guy,” Clint asked.

“I’m… Harry. Harry Potter. I think.”

“You think?”

“Well, my uncle and aunt never really called me by my name. It was just ‘boy’ or ‘freak’ or stuff like that… Wait, I wasn’t supposed to tell you that. Please don’t tell them, they’ll lock me in the cupboard again! It’s… it’s scary and dark in there.”

Tony got down on his knees, so that he would be eye-level with a crying Harry, before saying, “Harry, you’re never going to have to go back there, if you don’t want to.”

Between sniffles and broken sobs, Harry asked, “What?”

“You called him Big and Blond, right? Well, he wanted to ask if you wanted to get adopted.”

With eyes the size of saucers, Harry looked at each one of them, before ending on Steve. “Really?”

Steve smiled again and nodded.

“Can I still be Harry Potter? I don’t have anything from my dad except my last name, and I don’t wanna lose it.”

“Of course! You get total control when it comes to stuff like that. You’ll get your own room and everything! Sound good?”

“My own room?”

“Your own room, yeah. I saw you were sleeping in the cupboard. I promise, Harry, you’ll never have to sleep anywhere you don’t want to, okay? And I know you said it was dark down there – we can get you some lamps, or maybe a night-light. Does that sound good?”

Steve reached out his hand, and Harry stared at it. Taking everything into consideration, Harry Potter nodded and took Steve’s hand. “Yes. To all of it.”

“Let’s make sure you’re ready to check out, and then we can fill out the rest of the paperwork, okay?”

“The rest of the paperwork?”

“Yeah, Tony was already working on getting it set up. You’ve been asleep for about a week, little dude.”

“Wow. I’ve never slept in before. Looks like I overdid it my first time,” Harry said, solemnly.

“Nothing wrong with a sleep-in on the weekends, Harry.”

“Right. Wait, one more question.”

“Shoot.”

“Am I gonna move to America?”

Nat, the redhead, laughed. “Your new dad’s Captain America, kiddo. I think you’re gonna have to at least spend a bit of time there.”

“Huh. I can do that, I guess. Do you all have tea? What about toast? Wait, what’s a Captain America?” **  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although it was fun to write, mostly because who doesn't love pretending to be a rambling 9 y.o., I don't know if I love the chapter. I may go back and edit it later.
> 
> Feel free to share your thoughts!! Next chapter should be up next week!
> 
> Also, the Harry from this story (and, quite frankly, probably the Harry from the original stories) and I agree - regardless of your gender identity, you deserve a place in this community. You are loved. You'll always be welcome to sit next to me in the Great Hall - I'll save you a seat.


	3. Eyes on London

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry, Clint, Steve, Nat, and Tony end up talking about life while on top of the world.
> 
> Turns out, Harry's a hell of a lot more amazing than anyone could have ever expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So - TW// Talking about Harry's abuse. There's a lot of talk about bullying, and what Harry went through. It starts at ""Well, we don't know yet," Steve said. "What do you think should happen?"" and ends at ""Promise?" "Promise.""
> 
> For any notes about the chapter that aren't warning-related, see the end notes :)  
> I'm going to start using those to write about my thoughts / the notes notes for the chapter, but I want to make sure that any triggering material is covered in the front. From now on, any notes at the beginning will just be for the warnings!
> 
> However, just a heads up, this chapter has some happy fluff as well.

After being discharged from the hospital, Harry, Steve, Clint, Tony, and Natasha all decided to tour London. They'd visited Big Ben, relaxed in the Roman Baths, taken a trip to the Tower of London - which Steve had  _ not _ been scared to visit, thank you very much, and they'd let Harry try more foods than he'd imagined existed. 

Currently, they were sitting in the London Eye, laughing as Clint joked about making it his new roost. 

"Uncle Clint, you're so silly," Harry said. He'd quickly decided that if Steve Rogers was his new dad, then that made his other three rescuers his aunt and uncles. 

"Are you having fun," Natasha asked. 

While no one had expected her to get along with Harry particularly well, they'd all been thoroughly surprised when the two bonded as well as they had.

They'd been looking for a place to get dessert, and Harry turned to the group and announced that, because they'd been doing things the boys wanted to do (which, wasn't entirely true - Natasha had been the driving force behind the Tower of London, but she wasn't about to correct him), then they had to let Aunt Tasha decide on what they'd be getting as a treat. She was, as he put it, "awesome," so she "deserved nice things" and the right to choose. The ice cream that night had never tasted better - if it was because Harry had chosen to snuggle up next to her, well. The world didn't need to know.

"Yep, Aunt Tasha! It's so high! But so cool! It's like we're flying! Is this what it's like when you fly, Uncle Tony?"

Laughing, Tony said, "Not really, kiddo." With a wink, he said, "When I fly, I go faster."

"Woah..."

Each one of them appreciated how Harry was impressed by anything and everyone. It was clear that the boy hadn't known much kindness before they'd stormed the Dursleys' house, but the amount of love packed into such a small body - it was amazing.

Looking out at the city, Harry asked, "Can I ask a question?"

"You just did," Clint said, his smile carrying through in his voice.

"Oh… Can I ask two questions? Because if I ask that, then I can ask another question," he said, thinking. 

"Go ahead."

"What's going to happen to Dudley and my aunt and uncle? Because if dad's my new dad, then that means they're not looking after me anymore. So something is gonna happen to them, probably, because they're not gonna be there to take care of me."

While Harry continued to look out, the adults traded looks - they hadn't really had a chance to discuss the fate of the boy's extended family. So far, they'd agreed that Nat wasn't allowed to kill any of them, but they'd reached an impasse when it came to maiming. 

"Well, we don't know yet," Steve said. "What do you think should happen?"

Harry paused for a moment before turning and facing his newfound family. "Well, I have thought about that. I think Uncle Vernon should go to… adult time-out. That's called jail, I think Because he would hurt me with his belt. And with his fists. And he told me it was because I kept being bad, even though I wasn't being bad at all. Whenever other kids would hurt people on the playground, they'd get a time-out. So, he should get one too… Maybe he should get a lot, because he used his belt and fists a lot. And, Aunt Petunia… She was a bully, too. She made all my teachers not like me, because she said I was a problem. That's bullying too, right? So maybe she should get a time-out, because she hurt my feelings. But maybe not as long, because she'd give me food sometimes when Uncle Vernon didn't know about it. And then with Dudley… I don't know if he deserves a time-out like his mom and dad. He was really mean, but he was really mean because his dad was really mean, right? If he had someone to teach him to be nice, then maybe he'd be nice one day too. I think Uncle Vernon hurt me and you could see it, but I think he probably hurt Dudley, too. You just couldn't see it, could you? He didn't have nice people like you to show him how to be nice, he only had people like my uncle to show him how to be like my uncle. You don't have to save him the same way you saved me, which, thanks! But I think he deserves to be saved too, because if someone saves him, then maybe he'll save someone one day too."

The car was speechless, processing everything the talkative young boy just said. Clint was the first to speak, saying, "Didn't you say that your cousin would jump on the stairs so the spiders would fall on you? And he liked to chase you and hit you, right? Are you sure he doesn't deserve a… a time-out?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. He was being bad, but he was being bad, because he was told to be bad. Uncle Vernon gave him good things when he was bad, so Dudley only ever knew that being bad was a good thing. I'm a… Auntie Nat, what was the word you used?"

"A victim."

"Yeah. I'm one of those. A victim. Uncle Vernon liked to hurt me, and he liked to make me cry, and he is a bad man. Dudley's a bad kid, but I think that's because he was taught that being bad is being good. I was taught that  _ being me _ is bad, because that hurts too. Uncle Vernon only knows how to teach hurt, so Dudley only learned that. He should get forgiveness too, because then he can be a better dad when he grows up. Uncle Vernon wasted his chance at growing up, because he became mean. But Dudley's not a grown-up yet."

"Dang, kid. That's deep," Clint said, looking thoroughly surprised at Harry's words. 

They all were, in fact. Although Harry didn't speak much about the abuse - in fact, they worried he didn't fully understand just how bad the abuse had been - he still had so much compassion. 

"Can you make sure Dudley gets a good home, too? I know that Aunt Marge would probably take Dudley if Vernon had to go to jail, but she's a mean lady too. Maybe she and Uncle Vernon had mean parents. That's probably it. They're dead though. I don't really miss them though, because I don't remember them. Anyways. She broke my leg once, because I beat Dudley in a race. And she made me eat dog food… Actually, even though it tasted bad, it was kinda nice because I got to eat more than when I normally was allowed to eat… Anyway, she's a mean lady. If Dudley's gonna grow up to be nice, then he needs a nice lady. Or a nice man. Or a nice person."

Nat made a mental note to have Maria bring in this Marge woman as well, before saying, "I'll talk to some of my friends from work. The ones that work in the British offices. Maybe one of them would be willing to talk to Dudley, see if they can't help him. Sound good?" 

"Yeah, that'd be good. They gotta be nice to him though, even if he's mean. He has nine years of learning to be mean, but zero years of learning to be nice. They're gonna need patience."

"Yeah kid, I think they will. I'll make sure Dudley gets the right family, okay?"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

With that, Harry nodded happily. While the conversation moved to lighter topics, the heaviness of what they'd heard charged the air. Firstly, the idea that someone had broken one of Harry's bones and made him eat dog food repulsed them all - they'd seen how little Harry could eat, and they knew that was because of the starvation. But forcing a child to eat dog food? That was inhumane. 

Secondly, there was the fact that Harry understood that Dudley had learned his behaviour - he was cruel, but it was because he wasn't taught the difference between cruelty and kindness. Which made it even more remarkable, because Harry clearly hadn't been shown much kindness during his short life, but he obviously understood it far better than any of the adults he'd known. 

Steve couldn't help but be amazed at the child he'd adopted - speaking of which, he made a mental note to get Tony a bottle of the bourbon he loved as a thank you for speeding the process along. 

He was looking forward to getting to know Harry better. He knew that he and Clint both knew what it was like to lose one's parents at a younger age, and he was grateful for the memories of his mother that he did have. He silently vowed to give Harry the childhood that the small boy deserved - with the money he'd earned during the war, as well as the backpay he was owed from the army, he'd make sure Harry never wanted for anything. Tony, he was sure, would be more than happy to assist. 

"Hey, Harry," Steve said, "What's your favourite colour?"

"Purple!"

Clint threw his fist in the air, proclaiming, "Aww, yeah! Purple's the best!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know you love the colour purple, Hawkguy," Tony said.

"Hawkguy," Harry asked.

"It's my codename. I can explain more later, when we go back to America, if you want?"

"Sure, that sounds good. Can I call you Uncle Hawky, instead of Uncle Clint?"

With a blinding smile, Clint said, "Sounds good, little dude. Sounds good."

"Okay Uncle Hawky! Hey, can we get pizza for dinner?"

With a glance at Steve, Clint said, "Har-bear here likes purple and pizza. I'm stealing him, Cap."

Harry laughed at that, a melody that filled their small cabin, "I'm not a bear, silly!"

As their cart slowly pulled back into the landing, Steve looked at Harry and said, "Nope, sorry Clint. I've got the best son ever, you're gonna have to fight me for 'im."

Harry laughed. Adults made things so complicated! "You both can be my dad, it's fine."

At that, Steve looked surprised. Yes, he and Clint had been moving towards something before this, but they'd agreed that Harry came first - and that meant that they'd put their own relationship on hold.

Knowing that Harry probably wasn't  _ really _ ready to discuss what two dads would mean, Tony asked, "But, you've already got a daddy. Don't you want a mommy, too?" 

"I already had a mommy, but she died in a car crash with my first daddy. They probably loved each other a lot, but they're not here right now. I was just kidding, you both don't have to be my daddies, but… what's wrong with having two daddies? Or two mommies? Or two… I dunno a better word, but two parents? I had an aunt and an uncle, and they weren't nice. But Uncle Clint is nice, and my new dad is nice too. I don't think that would change if they were both my dads. Just like it wouldn't change if Auntie Nat was my mom and my new dad was still my new dad. Dad doesn't seem like someone who'd like someone mean, and I'm pretty new, right?" Turning to face his dad, Harry, wise beyond his years, said, "Just because I'm new, doesn't mean you should get rid of the important people that are old. If you have someone who loves you, I wanna meet them, because they make you happy. I wanna learn how to be a good son, and learning from people who make you happy sounds like a pretty good idea."

"You really wouldn't mind having a second dad?"

"Of course not! Uncle Vernon used to say having two dads was bad, but he was bad. So that must make the things he didn't like good, at least sometimes. You've been really good about taking care of me, because you're good. I think that means anyone you find will be good, too."

"Can I give you a hug, Harry," Steve asked. Now wouldn't be the time to introduce Clint as anything more than Uncle Hawky - but, he could. Some day, once he knew if this thing with Clint was serious, he could introduce him to Harry without fear. 

Harry reached forward, and tried to wrap his little arms around Steve. Doing the same, holding his son close, his eyes met Clint's and they both smiled. 

"Love you, Harry."

"Love you too, dad. I'm glad you rescued me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. I ship Clint + Steve.
> 
> Mostly because Pepper is gonna be really important to Tony, later on. I just wrote ten pages of a confrontation that is so far off in the future, it doesn't even make sense to begin planning it - however, I was really excited to write it. So, here we are! 
> 
> Sorry this one is shorter - I had been planning on ending it in the States, because I really want to introduce Harry to JARVIS. That chapter will likely come over the weekend. I'm expecting this part of the story to have four-ish more chapters, and then we'll move on to Harry at Hogwarts!


	4. Interogations.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha Romanoff is not known for being a kind woman. For Harry, she's willing to try. Mostly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW// child/parent separation, legal stuff, and sorta discussing Harry's abuse

Natasha Romanoff, more commonly known as the Black Widow, was not a forgiving woman. She had been trained to spy, steal, and kill. As a young girl, she'd learned that, to survive in the world, she had to kill, lest she be killed. And so, before she was able to count on both hands, she'd killed twice as many men in the name of target practice.

The Red Room did not raise children. However, they did not raise warriors, either - while they told the girls under their care that they'd be fighting for the USSR, they were very well aware of what these girls would become. 

Warriors lost. These girls? They were trained to be winners. By the time Natasha was seven, she'd killed half of the girls in her training class. 

How else were they to find the best of their troup?

The point, of course, was to ensure that what a Widow wanted, a Widow got. If they were trained to want whatever their target was, more than anything they personally could desire… Well. That just made them more effective assassins, didn't it? 

As one of the only surviving Widows, Natasha was one of the greatest victors sitting in the winners' circle. Along the way, she'd developed a sense of free will, making her even more dangerous than the mindless killer she'd been raised to be. 

By the time she was seventeen, she had no competition left. No Widow, past or present, would dare challenge her, and everyone wanted her for their job. It didn't matter if it was the assassination of some head of state, or the robbery of someone's darkest secrets and greatest treasures. Natasha Romanoff,  _ The _ Black Widow, was unstoppable. 

Until, of course, she wasn't. Clinton Barton, her partner-in-crime, and Budapest - the first time. They'd been there so many times, and they'd shared so many stories, that no one at SHIELD would ever know what they meant when they talked about  _ Budapest _ . Which, quite frankly, was how she preferred it. The fewer that knew her secrets, the better. 

Her ledger was dripping with the blood of her enemies - of kills taken for personal gain, rather than for the Greater Good. She felt like she was doing good, working for SHIELD. And today, after having spent the day with Harry, she  _ knew _ she was doing good. 

Dressed as Natalie Rushman, the only thing betraying her cover was the smile - while "Natalie" was like a warm summer day, this smile was the frigid grin of a predator hunting prey. "Bring the first one in."

～  ～  ～

Vernon Dursley had  _ not _ had a good week. First, he was shot. That had been particularly unpleasant - and quite painful. Then, he found himself pummeled by the beautiful redheaded assistant. She'd had to have broken several of his bones… the whore. How dare she touch him? Did she not know who he was? He was the district manager of the Grunnings' Surrey office! 

Secondly, Vernon Dursley had not gotten laid in some time. Petunia had been refusing him, and none of the local slags at the bars he went to would go near him. He'd been banned from the local brothels two years ago - his balls were blue, damnit! He couldn't even give himself pleasure, as his hands… chafed. It was not a pleasant experience. 

Thirdly, he didn't quite know where he was. They'd addressed his bullet-wound, but they didn't seem inclined to address the several shattered ribs, the dislocated shoulder, or the break in his arm. This couldn't be legal under the Queen's law, could it? No, definitely not! 

In summation, he was very, very angry. Had he been able to see his worthless nephew, he'd have been able to take the anger out on the  _ freak _ . However, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the mongrel. Blasted thing, with its funny business... 

Sitting in his cell, Vernon's anger began to spike. Coincidentally, his fit of rage began just as the guards were coming to take him to the interrogation room. 

"Vernon Dursley, you are to report to the interrogation room. We will accompany you."

"Like ruddy Hell you fucking will, you animals! Who the fuck are you? You haven't read me my rights! What the fuck are you doing," he bellowed at the man, who was moving to put on the handcuffs. Vernon raised one of his meaty paws, trying to deck the scoundrel who'd dared kidnap him. 

Realising what was happening, the man's partner reached for their taser. "This better fucking hurt," they said. As the taser shot electricity through Vernon's body, they couldn't help but feel a bit of joy. It turns out, people didn't end up working in the SHIELD containment facilities if they didn't have just a  _ bit _ of a sadist streak in them. 

～  ～  ～

Nat laughed as they hauled Harry's uncle into the room. The little angel may never know it, but Vernon Dursley would never have the chance to hurt another child again - he would, however, definitely get a taste of his own medicine. She'd love to tell Harry about it, but, the boy was too good for this world - there's no way he'd enjoy it as much as she was right now.

"So, I see you've met the guards. Agents Fields and Taylor, thank you. You may go, now."

They shackled his hands to the table, which in turn was bolted to the ground. While he certainly didn't look weak - the scars on Harry's back proved he could pack a punch, he certainly wouldn't be breaking out of the restraints. And, if he did, then Nat would have a fun time breaking him. It would only be fair.

His face slowly turned purple; not from asphyxiation, but from rage. Natasha couldn't help but feel giddy - this was going to be fun. "You listen to me, you little whore! I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but you have denied me my rights! I'm going straight to the barristers, and I'll have you all thrown in jail! No, I'll strangle you myself," he began.

Natasha was, admittedly, morbidly impressed with how long he was able to keep his tirade going. She tried to centre herself on Harry - he wouldn't like it if she was cruel back to Vernon… although he was testing her patience. 

"Are you finished, yet," she asked, icy calm in her voice. 

"What?"

"Are you quite finished, yet? Simple question, really."

"How dare you?"

"How dare I? How dare  _ you _ , Vernon Dursley."

"How dare I  _ what?" _

"So, so many things. To begin, we could start by talking about your nephew's condition."

So that's what she's after, Vernon thought to himself. He'd have to play this smart - this bimbo could never know the truth. She looked familiar… Had she been by the house before? This was hardly the first time someone had called the DeF. These younger women all looked the same, how was he supposed to keep them apart in his mind? He knew what to do, though."I wasn't aware there was legislation in place against punishing a child," he said. "I was merely giving the boy a lesson, seeing as he'd been misbehaving. Surely that's allowed, Miss..."

Internally, Nat rolled her eyes. "A lesson not unlike the taser used on you, I'd imagine," she said with a smile.

"What?"

"The taser, used on you. Surely, that was a bit… over the top, wasn't it?"

Thinking he'd already won, Vernon nodded. "Indeed! I found it most unfitting, especially as I haven't been charged with a crime! I'll be going to their supervisors, certainly."

"And, you are of the opinion that the crime should fit the punishment, correct?"

"Of course!"

"So, what, pray tell, was the motherfucking reason you decided to take a belt to your nephew's back?"

"What," Vernon asked.

"You said, the crime fit the punishment. I witnessed the punishment myself, yet I can't imagine a fitting crime," she said sweetly. 

Vernon's mind was racing, trying to place the redhead in front of him, when it finally hit him. 

"You're the bitch that shot me," he roared. 

"I do love target practice, although you weren't a very difficult mark," she said. Setting her gun next to her on the table, hoping to threaten the man. She asked, "Now that you're here, what do you think about going another round?" There was a bloodthirsty look in her eyes, one that craved violence. 

He paled at that, before making the worst decision of his life.

He reached for the gun.

～  ～  ～

She called Steve while she waited for Petunia Dursley to be brought in. 

"Everything okay, Nat?"

"Yeah. Just thought I'd give you a status update."

"What happened?"

"You know how Tony was saying he hoped the uncle would get what was coming to him?"

"Yeah..."

"Let's just say he got that, and then some. He reached for my weapon."

"Shit, are you okay? What happened?"

"I might have shattered both his kneecaps, and I'd be surprised if he has any ribs that aren't broken."

"You let him live?"

"I didn't think Harry would appreciate me killing his uncle."

"Probably for the best. Will he recover?"

"Define recover?"

"Um..."

"I don't think he's ever going to walk again. He'll probably have to eat through a straw for the next few months, too."

"But you didn't kill him?"

"No. I arranged for him to be sent to a SHIELD prison in Siberia. Made sure the guards were aware of why he was being sent there," she said, an evil glint in her eye. "There are some fates worse than death. And then there's the fate he'll be stuck with."

"Can you even do that?"

"I already did it, so whether I can or cannot doesn't really matter, now does it? Just tell Harry his uncle's going away for a long time."

"Can do. When are you going to be done in the office? We've only got a few more days in Britain."

"Soon. I'll call you later, I've gotta deal with the aunt, now."

With that, Nat hung up the phone. Not a minute later, Petunia Dursley was led into the room. She sat with all the grace a woman in her situation could muster.

Looking at her, Nat saw someone who was battle-hardened. It wouldn't surprise her if this woman before her hadn't survived the marriage unscathed. Thinking about what Harry would want, she made a last-minute decision.

"Before we begin, I should let you know that your husband had to be wheeled out of here, as a result of our reaction to his little anger issue. Needless to say, you and he have been deemed unfit as guardians or parents, and both children in your care were put into the foster system. Harry has already been adopted."

"What? But what about my Dudlikins?"

"That's what we're here to discuss. You will have no chance at gaining any form of control over his life, and he is a ward of the state."

"But… on what grounds?"

"The many years worth of child-abuse against your nephew do not paint you in a good light, Mrs. Dursley. You're quite lucky that Harry requested I personally facilitate your son's adoption and ensure his placement with a good home."

"But we are a good home!"

"Given the injuries on your nephew's body, as well as the psychological trauma he undoubtedly has, your government clearly disagrees. Furthermore, while you may be a capable mother to your one son, you cannot fulfill that role from prison."

"Prison," she shrieked, panic finally breaking through her features.

"Yes."

"But, you've not read me my rights! I demand to speak with a lawyer."

"Ma'am, you're in SHIELD custody. The rules are different. Next time, don't blatantly abuse a child in front of the Avengers."

Petunia's anger subdued at that - she knew she was caught. She'd spent years dreading this moment. It's a large part of why she spent so much time poisoning the teachers against her nephew - if he ever spoke out, they'd be ruined. As it was, the Department of Education had sent agents to check on them before, and she knew they'd barely passed; had they not made Harry out to be a menace, then she'd have found herself behind bars far sooner. "So, what is my fate to be then?"

"Today, you'll provide assistance on a matter of importance. Tomorrow, you'll be relocated to one of SHIELD's facilities."

"What of my husband? Will we be kept in the same location?"

"Do you really want to be kept in the same facility as him?"

Without needing a moment to think about it, Petunia said, "No. I'd rather not, if it were all the same to you."

"You're quite lucky. Harry spoke out in favour of a shorter sentence. Should you provide adequate help today, I'll see to it that you not only receive less time behind bars than your husband, but that you're sent to a better location."

Petunia was shocked that Harry would speak out in favour of her, but quickly schooled her features. "Do you know the boy, then?"

"While you've been in here, I've been getting to know him. Yes."

"And he truly spoke out for me?"

"I was as surprised as you are. However, he said that you didn't deserve the same fate as your husband. So, here we are."

"May I ask one more question, before we begin?"

"Of course."

"Did… did he say anything about Dudley? 

"Harry asked that I personally see to it that he be placed in a good home, that will teach him to be a better man than his father was. In Harry's eyes, Dudley was as in need of saving as he was, himself. That's what your task will be."

"What?"

"I've compiled a list of families that are potential matches for your son. You may never have the right to legally call him your son, but you do know him best. I'm willing to give you the option to give your council, so that your son ends up in the best possible situation. Do that, and I'll see to it that you receive treatment unlike what your husband received."

"Will Vernon ever get out?"

"No. Not after what he tried today." 

There was silence for a moment, before she said, "Good."

"Agreed. Now, let's get to work."

～  ～  ～

Less than an hour later, Petunia cried as she picked the family that would take her son. She weeped for the child she'd lost, and she mourned the future she'd ruined. Petunia Dursley was no fool - she had made this bed long ago, when she first let her husband lay a hand on her nephew. It was time to lie in it. At least she could do it, knowing that her Dudley would grow up with a family that would love him, yet not to the point of creating another Vernon. 

"May… May I make one final request?"

"Depends on what it is," Natasha asked, her mask of indifference firmly plastered on her face.

"W… Would it be possible to get divorced, while in custody?"

"Theoretically. If, for example, you were concerned about your safety after you both were released, then I could have it arranged."

"Will he ever be released?"

"Does it matter?"

"No."

"I'll have the process begun by the end of the day, then."

"Thank you. And… Thank Harry, for me. Please. H… he… he has his mother's spirit."

"I'll pass along the message."

"You sort of look like her, you know. You have her eyes, just like he does, and her hair. Lily, I mean. His mother. He doesn't know the truth about her, but… She was a good woman. Far better than I could ever be."

"I'll make sure he knows."

Motioning for the guards to come in and take her away, Natasha watched as the weight of everything settled on Petunia's shoulders. She had been a horrible mother to Harry, but she couldn't ignore the love she had for her son.

Deciding to offer the woman one last kindness, in the spirit of Harry, Natasha said, "I'll tell the family that they've been chosen today. If you'd like, I'll request that they meet you before you're sent to your facility. To give you a chance to tell them about your son - they'll need everything they can get, if they're going to keep him from continuing to be as spoiled and hateful as he is."

"I'd… I wouldn't be able to repay you, if you did."

"You wouldn't owe me anything. I'm not doing it for you - none of this was for you, Petunia. This was for Harry, and because he asked that you be given the kindness you kept from him. I don't think you or your husband deserve the air you're breathing, but Harry asked for kindness for you. I'm merely obliging him."

Petunia simply nodded.

"Good luck, Petunia Evans."

～  ～  ～

Nat watched the video feed to Petunia's cell. She had 24 more hours here, before she would be sent to a SHIELD facility in Northern Ireland. The woman was currently talking with her child's future home - they were planning to pick him up from the foster home he was currently in tonight. 

Clint walked up to her, asking, "How'd it go?"

"About as well as expected."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. She said something interesting, though. I'll have to ask JARVIS to look into it."

"What was it?"

"Harry doesn't know much about his mother."

Always in tune with his partner, Clint said, "You don't think he knows what happened."

"I don't think any of us do. Which is why I want JARVIS to look into it."

"If it's for Harry, then you know Tony will do it in a heartbeat."

"Yeah. Kid went from having no parents to four, even if Steve's the only official one. Just wait until Bruce and Thor meet him."

"He'll be so loved, he won't even know what to do about it."

"Damn straight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I don't really know how I feel about this chapter. Let me know what you think in the comments?
> 
> I really wanted this epic showdown, but I can't help but feel like Nat's gonna ignore Harry like that. So, this happened.   
> There will probably only be three or four more chapters to this part of the story. After this, we'll move on to Harry's time at Hogwarts - just a heads up, I'll probably post the last chapter of this piece and the first chapter of the following piece at the same time, so I might take a bit longer. I hope to have this one fully written by the end of the week :)


	5. The Tower, The Avengers, JARVIS, and Accidental Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry settles in to life in the tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW// Harry's past; orphanage; hospital setting. Also, Vernon Dursley + Pain.

As the quintet drove towards the airport, Harry didn't really know how to feel. He was very excited to be moving in with his dad - his very own dad!! That was weird, but it was also exciting. Harry didn't want to mess anything up - he wasn't worried that Steve would send him back to the Dursleys, but he did worry that he wouldn't be a great son. He knew he had a lot to learn, because, before, he hadn't been a son. He'd been a nephew. Er… He'd been a servant, really. Harry may be young, but, if the hours locked in his dark cupboard had done anything for him, they'd resulted in a  _ very _ aware young boy. He hadn't been allowed to have fun, or make friends, or speak, but, he'd always found solace in his rebellion. No one, not even Vernon with his belt, could stop him from  _ thinking _ . He knew his childhood wasn't… right. 

Now, however, facing a childhood better than he could imagine, he didn't know how to act. Obviously, he was super-duper excited. Who wouldn't be? He had a dad! A dad who let him call him Dad! That was big! He also had an Aunt Nat, who was so much better than his Aunt Petunia, and uncles! Harry was glad he didn't have to see Uncle Vernon again - Aunt Nat had promised that Vernon Dursley wouldn't even be allowed to see him again, let alone hurt him. He trusted her. 

Mostly, anyway. Trusting adults was still a new thing for Harry, and, while he really wanted to, he wasn't sure he could totally trust his dad and his aunt and uncles. They were, after all, adults.

Harry was willing to give them a chance, though. After all, no one had hit him - no one had even raised their voices at him! Plus, he learned, his new family was famous! That was super duper cool. Or, as his new dad would say, it was  _ swell _ . Harry couldn't help but giggle at his dad, sometimes! First off, he had a funny accent, and second, he used funny words. 

"Alright, Kiddo. Are you ready for your first time in an airplane," Steve asked. They both knew that they'd need to get to know each other, so Steve had said that he could use his first name, instead of calling him dad. Although, Harry had overheard Steve telling Uncle Clint that he hoped Harry would call him Dad, one day. Harry thought he probably would, because Steve seemed like he would be a good dad. And, if he was a good dad, then that meant he deserved to be called Dad. Right? 

"I'm so excited," he said, "I've never flown before but it sounds super fun!"

Clint loved it when The Smol One, as he'd taken to calling him, was excited - Harry had so much energy, and he had so much love for life, and, over the past few days, he'd slowly been showing just how deeply he appreciated the world. There wasn't a thing the kid didn't like - it made Clint smile, knowing that he was saving a kid from the life he had. Harry had so much love to share, and, now, he'd get to be loved, too.

"Are you going to fly, Uncle Hawky?"

"I am! Maybe, if your dad is it's okay, you can sit on my lap and help me steer a bit," Clint said, smiling at the little munchkin sat between him and Nat. 

"Woah..."

"Like the sound of that?"

"That sounds so cool!! Can I, Steve?"

A conflicted look crossed Steve's face for a second as he thought about it, but, ultimately, he knew he needed to show he trusted Harry. "As long as you promise to listen to Clint, I think it's fine," he said. 

"You ready to be my co-pilot, then?"

"Yeah!!!"

As the gang got out of the car, Harry was practically bursting with excitement. He'd about to do so many new things - this was way better than  _ trying toast! _ Which, Harry was happy to report, tasted good. Pizza tasted better, though. Plus, because Uncle Tony was  _ Tony Stark _ (Harry wasn't quite sure what that meant, if he was being honest, but apparently it was Very Important), that meant that they got to drive right up to the plane! Harry didn't know that was even a thing.

"Alright, why don't you get settled onboard and I'll get us in the air. I'll call back when you can come up, sound good?"

"Okay," Harry said happily, skipping up the stairs after his Steve, who was carrying their luggage. Looking at the inside plane, Harry's jaw dropped. "Woah..."

"Like it," Tony asked.

"This is so cool!! Uncle Tony, you have your own plane! That's… That's so cool!"

"Here, kiddo, why don't we get you settled in this seat, and you can look out the window."

"Can we watch a movie?"

"We can watch a few, kiddo. It's a long flight, so we'll have time to watch three or four, probably."

"Woah… That's such a long time!"

"No one's going to get mad if you decide to sleep, either, Harry," Nat said, having claimed a chair across from him. "The chairs can turn into beds."

"They can do what!? Can you please show me, Auntie Nat?"

"See that button, the green one? Press that until it's how you want it," she said, while demonstrating. 

Steve smiled as his new son got himself situated. "Steve, your friends are so cool," Harry said, looking up at his dad. Steve was close to tears, staring at the appreciation and admiration in Harry's eyes. 

Harry moved to cuddle up to his dad. No one had really expected the first time it had happened - they knew how Harry had been taught to fear touch, how he'd learned that touch was nothing but pain. As such, they'd expected him to shy away from people wanting to hug him. However, as they quickly learned, Harry Potter didn't care about others' expectations, proving to be incredibly tacticle and very fond of hugs and snuggles. He'd often snuggled up to Nat while they watched TV, after exploring London, not caring that she was the most deadly person in any room she was in. She was his Auntie Nat, and that meant snuggles. 

Nat threated to kill anyone who made fun of her or Harry for it. No one was going to discourage Harry Hugs. 

"Do you want to watch a movie, Harry?"

"Uh… Yeah! I remember… Dudley really liked to watch Studio Ghibli movies while I mowed the yard or did chores. I once got caught watching five minutes of one them through the window, and Uncle Vernon made me stand outside in the next rainstorm as punishment… Can we watch one of those?"

Anger flashed through Steve as he heard how Harry had been treated - just like every other time. Harry was miraculous, in that he'd faced so much hate, yet he'd never let it become part of him. It made him weep for the child who'd known nothing but the cupboard under the stairs. "Yeah," he said, once he got his emotions under control, although his voice still sounded a bit shakey. 

Able to tell that his dad was sad, Harry wrapped his tiny arms around Steve. "It's going to be okay. I have you now, and I'm happier than I knew would ever be. You make things okay," his little voice said, hoping that he'd found the right words. "I'm glad I'm with you. With all of you," he said, looking at Nat and Tony, as well. The ferocity of his love shone through his eyes, and they all felt themselves melt at Harry's words. 

Clint could hear everything via speakers, and he needed a moment to wipe the tears from his eyes. Having been abused as a child himself, and having suffered a less-than-ideal young adulthood in the circus, he understood intimately how broken it could leave a person. His own father had beaten the hearing out of him. And yet, as he looked at Harry, he saw a child who'd suffered far worse - when they'd taken him to the doctors at SHIELD, they'd caused a massive uproar. Apparently, Harry had 54 different bones that had broken at one point, some multiple times, had been underfed to the point of practically starving, and had likely suffered several concussions. And, yet, he had minimal signs of the abuse, excluding his height - it was like magic. How he'd survived to the age of nine was a mysery - and yet, here he was. Anyone who dared hurt Harry would have hell rain down on them, he would make sure of it. 

As it was, Nat's contact at the Siberian prison facilities had told her that Vernon Dursley had had six different attempts on his life already. He'd broken most of the bones in his body, someone had tried to snap his neck, and the guards estimated he'd need to be locked in solitary… for his own protection, of course. They hadn't decided on that course of action because the guards found him a grating, self-absorbed,  _ penis from the mountains _ , as the phrase translated. And, of course, they'd only been able to track four of the life threatening injuries back to inmates. As far as they were concerned, the man had done the other two to himself, obviously. They didn't expect him to survive the year, if they were being honest. Which… Good. 

He was shook from his reprieve as Harry asked how long it would take them to get in the air. Not wanting to keep his little angel waiting long, he got to work. 

In the back, Tony, Harry, Nat, and Steve were all looking at the screen that popped up out of the table."What movie do you wanna watch, squirt,” Tony asked, having quickly bought the entire Ghibli library so Harry could watch whatever. 

“Uh… This one,” Harry said, pointing to a movie called  _ Castle in the Sky _ . 

“Okay! Do you want to watch it in English?” 

“Are there options to watch it in not English,” Harry asked, eyes wide. He didn’t know people spoke anything other than English! 

“Yeah, you can watch it in Japanese, it seems.” 

“Where do they speak that?” 

“Japan.” 

"I've never heard Japanese before! Can I hear what it sounds like, before I decide?"

"Sure, kiddo." Tony pressed a button, causing the movie to start. 

Unfortunately, he didn't take into account the fact that they'd need subtitles. Harry's face scrunched up, and he looked like he might cry as the words started flashing across the screen. "Hey, what's wrong little guy?"

"I… I'm too stupid! I can't read that fast, and I didn't know a lot of the words," Harry said, voice fraught with sadness. 

"You're not stupid," Steve said, trying to reassure his son. "You remembered a lot from the museums we visited! In fact, it seemed like you knew all the tour guides' facts by the time we were done."

"But..."

"What's wrong?"

"It's embarassing," Harry said, hiding his face against Steve. As Steve felt his shirt get slightly wet, his heart broke for Harry once more. 

"You know you can tell us anything, right, Harry?"

"Uh-huh," he said, through sniffles.

"So, can you tell us what's wrong?"

"I… I can't really read that good," he said. "I wasn't allowed to do better than Dudley in school, and he never really did well, so I wasn't allowed to do my homework or bring home any books for school, even though they all looked so interesting," he cried. "And the teachers thought I was bad, so they never helped me," he said, now sobbing. 

"Harry, why don't we watch the movie in English, and then we can spend some time working on your reading? Does that sound good?"

"You're not mad?"

"Harry, sweetheart, no, I'm not mad. At least, not at you."

"But you are mad?"

"Harry, your aunt and uncle, and your teachers, they were supposed to take care of you. I'm mad that they didn't do their job, because you deserve people who love you and will take care of you. It's not your fault that they failed you."

"Wh...what?"

"Harry, your aunt and uncle were supposed to love you and support you. I'm mad that they didn't do that, because you deserve so much love, kiddo. Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that I get to be your dad, because you're the best kid ever, but you shouldn't have had suffer for so long. I'm mad at your teachers, for not recognising that you needed more help, for letting you fall behind. I don't care what your aunt told them, their job was to make sure you learn. I bet you tried so hard to learn, even though you weren't allowed to."

"Uh-huh! I wanted to learn a lot!"

"But you weren't allowed to, so you didn't have the chance to."

"What?"

"Harry, it's not that you didn't learn. You're not stupid - anyone who calls you that is lying, Harry. The problem was that you weren't allowed to learn, and that you never had the chance to learn. How are you supposed to learn and grow if no one will help you try?"

"A… Are you gonna help me," Harry asked, sounding so full of hope that everyone wanted to reach out and give him a hug. 

"Harry, I promise you, I will always help you."

"I love you, Dad," Harry said, squeezing his father as close as he could. No one had ever said they'd help him, no one had ever  _ cared _ . The fact that Steve did… That made him worth being called Dad. Harry wanted Steve to know just how much he meant to him, and he couldn't think of any other way.

"Love you too, son," Steve said, pressing a kiss to the top of Harry's head. 

"Now, let's watch this movie, and maybe we can work on learning some reading skills before we land, okay?"

"Can I learn Japanese, too?"

Laughing, Steve said, "Sure. Anything else you want to learn?"

"Everything."

"Well then, we'll just have to make sure you can," Steve said, a smile on his face.

Nat and Tony shared a look. Yeah, Steve was going to be a great dad. 

～  ～  ～

As they pulled up to Stark Tower's parking garage, Harry couldn't help but fidget in his seat. After watching the movie, which he'd really enjoyed, Steve, Nat, and Tony all helped Harry practice his reading. Ever the mini-genius, Harry made a decent amount of progress with his family, going from stumbling over most words to able to read whole sentences with only a little bit of trouble, after just two hours. After that, Clint had invited Nat and Harry to come up to the cockpit, to "fly" the plane for half an hour.. 

Although he'd never tell Steve, Clint actually did let Harry fly for about ten minutes. He couldn't be more proud of his future pilot, who'd done an outstanding job keeping the plane steady - although he said he'd wanted to do a loop-de-loop, he didn't actually try it. Apparently, Harry's concern for his family's well-being outweighed his desire to be a daredevil. 

After that, Harry was understandably very sleepy. He fell asleep cuddled up to his Steve, and the rest of the flight went very smoothly. 

Harry had been very excited to meet Happy, who, at first, didn't quite know what to make of the new addition to the Rogers clan. Within twenty minutes, however, the gruff driver decided that Harry was his new favourite person and offered to drive him whenever he needed. Harry said it was very cool that he could drive underground, even though it was very dark.

"Thank you, Mr. Happy, sir! You drive really well," Harry said, getting out of the car. 

"Anytime, Mr. Harry. I'll always be glad to give you a lift, if you need it," Happy said, with a smile. 

Harry went back to the trunk, to help his dad with the suitcases. His was very light, as he only had the things that Nat and he had decided to buy - she wouldn't let him keep any of his old clothes, as they didn't fit him well. 

They followed Tony and the others to a lift, when, suddenly, there was a voice in the air. 

"Hello, Sir, hello Avengers, and hello Guest. Welcome back. Which floor would you like to go to?"

"Penthouse, J."

"Woah… Who's talking," Harry said, looking around. 

"That's JARVIS," Clint explained.

"Who's that?"

"Hello. My name is JARVIS, or,  _ Just A Rather Very Intelligent System _ ."

"He runs the tower," Nat explained. 

"Woah… Hi JARVIS! I'm Harry Potter!"

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter. If I may, you have a wonderful accent. I much prefer it, to whatever it is they speak."

Harry giggled at that. 

Tony laughed as well. "Hey! Ignore him, he just likes to be sassy."

"I'm afraid I cannot calculate my sass usage, Mr. Stark. As a computer, it would be highly unlikely to develop likes or dislikes," JARVIS said. 

"This is so cool!"

"We have arrived. Thank you for your admiration, Mr. Potter. Should you need anything, I monitor all of the public rooms via video and audio, and am able to activate in the residential rooms via audio, should you need anything."

"Thank you, Mr. JARVIS!"

"My pleasure."

As they stepped out of the elevator, Harry was amazed at just how high up they were. Running towards the windows, he said, "I can see the whole city from here!!"

"Be careful, kiddo," Clint called out. 

"Welcome home," Steve said. 

"This is where you live," Harry said, voice betraying his amazement and disbelief. 

"Yep! This is the communal floor. We've got residential floors below us, then a floor with a gym, a pool, and a weights room. We've also got an entertainment floor, and there's a kitchen on this floor, as well."

"Uncle Tony… You're  _ rich _ ."

"Yep, Shortstack."

At that, a businesswoman walked out of another elevator, looking rather unhappy with Tony. 

"Tony Stark! You were supposed to get back last week! Where have you been?"

"Hi!" Harry said, getting in between the scary lady and his uncle Tony. "I'm Harry Potter, what's your name?"

Looking taken aback, Pepper looked down at the smaller human. "I'm Pepper. What are you doing up here, Harry?"

"He's mine," Steve said. 

"I… I have so many questions."

"Harry, why don't you let your uncle Tony and Steve talk with Pepper, and Nat and I can show you around. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah," he said, skipping towards them. 

As soon as they were gone, Pepper turned to Tony and Steve, giving them a look that demanded answers. 

And so, they jumped into their story, explaining Tony's business meeting went south. While neither of them really wanted to delve into Harry's abuse, they knew they couldn't avoid it. However, they were happy to talk about Harry's time in London and the plane ride back. "He's such a good kid, Pep. Seriously, just wait until you get to know him."

"Well, that explains why I've spent the past day squashing rumours about you having a secret lovechild."

"Sorry. I should have given you more heads up."

"More? You should have given me  _ some _ heads up, Tony! I had no clue you were bringing a kid to the Tower until JARVIS alerted me you came back with one more person than you left with!"

"Sorry..."

"Now, what is the plan?"

"What?"

"The plan, Tony. He's a kid, and you all work as superheroes. His adoptive dad is an octogenarian World War Two veteran amped up on super juice, you fly around in a tin can suit, Nat and Clint know a million ways to kill a person, Thor's a Norse god, and Bruce turns into a giant green rage monster. You've gotta have a plan to make sure he's got at least a somewhat normal life. You've gotta make sure he's safe."

"I'm going to take fewer missions, at least for the first few months, Miss Potts. I agree, we need to come up with a plan for Harry, both in terms of normalcy, but also for schooling."

"Does Nick know?"

"Yeah. His aunt and uncle are both locked up with SHIELD."

"Alright. Now, is it safe to have Bruce around him?"

"I guess we'll have to find out."

～  ～  ～

"Harry!! Where did you go?"

"I cannot believe we lost him. Steve is going to kill us. Pepper is going to kill us."

"Relax, we know he's somewhere on this floor," Nat said. 

"I'll check the Hulk Room, see if he wandered off and got himself locked in there. Do you know if Bruce is in?"

"He should be."

When silence met her question, Nat began to worry. Running off in the direction Clint had walked in, she was quick to find a dumbstruck Clinton Barton. "I was just about to call for you. I don't believe it."

～  ～  ～

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Ms. Potts, but there is now a second person in the Hulk Chamber."

"Who's the first?"

"Dr. Banner. In his more green form."

Paling, she asked, "Who's the second?"

"Mr. Potter."

Steve raised his hand to his mouth, and Tony began cursing up a storm. "How did he get in there, J? Is he okay?"

"I am not sure how he entered, but I believe you should see this," JARVIS said, pulling up video feed.

～  ～  ～

Harry accidentally wandered off, finding a large chamber with a green room made of… something. He had been on the outside, but, he blinked, and found himself on the inside. Inside the strange room, Harry found a large green man. He wasn't quite sure how he got inside - Uncle Vernon would have called it  _ freakishness _ , but he wasn't around. The large green man seemed quite confused as well. 

"Who you?" he bellowed.

"I'm Harry! Who are you?"

"Me Hulk."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Hulk!"

"You tiny."

"Yeah, I am pretty short," Harry said, laughing. "You're really tall! And you look really strong, too!"

"Hulk big! Big Hulk smash good!"

"Ah, do you like smashing?"

"Hulk SMASH!"

"What do you like to smash?"

At that, the Hulk looked confused. 

"Has no one ever asked you what you like to smash," Harry said, moving to sit on the ground. 

"Hulk like smash… Twinkies."

"What're Twinkies," Harry asked. "I've never had those, before."

"You weird."

"Yeah, my uncle used to say that a lot. But he wasn't very nice. You seem pretty nice, Mr. Hulk."

"Hulk smash uncle?"

Thinking for a moment, Harry said, "Sure. If you want, I guess? Just… Don't kill him."

"Hulk no promise."

"Please, Mr. Hulk!"

"Fine."

"What else do you like to do?"

"Hulk like smash!"

"But what else?"

"What else?"

"Yeah! Other than smashing."

"Hulk not know."

"Do you want to play a game?"

"What game?"

When Tony, Steve, and Pepper started watching the video feed, Harry Potter and the Hulk were playing Pattycake. 

Nat and Clint were both dumbstruck, standing in the corner, never having seen anything quite like it. 

Steve was the first to speak. "How the fuck?"

Tony was too shocked to say  _ "Language." _

～  ～  ～

"Harry, you can't wander off like that," Steve said, still confused as to  _ how _ Harry had managed to get into the Hulk room. 

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"It's okay. Just… Be careful, okay? The Hulk's dangerous."

Bruce had been panicking ever since de-Hulking, as he was terrified he might hurt Harry. They all knew the type of carnage the Hulk was capable of, and the idea that a boy who'd been hurt so much before might get harmed in his new home - place that was supposed to be safe - was too much for him to handle. 

"No he's not," Harry said, a bit confused. "He's really big, but he's nice!"

"What?"

"Yeah! He has big muscles, but he didn't wanna hurt me! It was fun," Harry said. "I think the Hulk just needed a hug," the small boy said, looking deep in thought.

"A hug?"

"Yeah! He got smaller after," Harry said. "He just needed a good cuddle, and then he was back to being… You said his name was Uncle Bruce?"

"Yeah. Uncle Bruce," Steve said, not sure if he was in awe of his child or still in shock.

"Yeah. I gave Uncle Hulky a big hug, and then he became Uncle Bruce."

"Harry, you do know who the Hulk is, right?"

"He's the guy who was in the big room! Who became Uncle Bruce… How did he do that, any way? I've never seen anything like it!"

"Harry… Do you know who the Avengers are?"

"Yeah! That's you an' Uncle Tony and Uncle Hawky and Uncle Bruce and Auntie Nat. The people in London talked about you whenever they saw you," Harry said. 

"Do you know what we do?"

"Uh… Do you work in a bank? Is that why Uncle Tony's so rich?"

"Have you heard of the Battle of New York?"

"Is that a movie?"

And so, Steve explained to his young ward that he and Harry's other uncles and aunt were superheroes. Harry had been amazed at that, and he had asked if he could see what happened in New York. Reluctantly, Steve played some of the clips from the fighting, worried that his son would get overly scared. 

Harry was amazed - his dad was so good with the shield! He'd never seen anything like it! And Uncle Hulky was so awesome! Harry understood what he meant when he said he liked to smash - he was good at it, too! Uncle Hawky and Auntie Nat were super good at fighting, too! He wanted to learn to be like them, they were awesome! And then, there was the big blonde dude with the hammer! He was so powerful! However, when Harry watched Tony deal with the bomb that had been sent to New York City, Harry asked JARVIS to turn off the video. 

"Where's Uncle Tony?"

"He is in his lab, Mr. Potter."

Harry asked Steve to take him there, practically dragging his father to the elevator. Once they'd reached the lab (and Steve had made sure nothing dangerous was going on), Harry raced towards his uncle and gave him the biggest hug he could.

"Hey kiddo, what's wrong," Tony said, surprised.

"I… I saw the fighting.... And… It was so scary!! You coulda gotten hurt," Harry said, thinking about how his uncle had fallen through the wormhole.

"I'm all right, kiddo, really," Tony said. "It's all in a day's work."

Harry just hugged him tighter. "If that's your work, then… I'm gonna make sure I give you all a hug every time…  _ every _ time you go to save people!"

Two minutes later, after Harry was reasonably sure that his uncle was fine, he and Steve went down to their apartment - as it currently stood, the Avengers each had half a floor to themselves. Tony and Pepper shared a floor, Nat and Clint shared the one directly under the roof, Steve and Thor shared a floor - although Thor had yet to use his rooms, and Bruce and the Hulk Room shared a floor. Seeing as Thor had never stayed in his rooms, Tony had decided to have them converted into a space for Harry - however, while he worked on reorganising the space, Harry would stay in one of Steve's guest rooms. 

Harry was amazed that he'd get his own room, but he was absolutely gobsmacked when he found out he'd get his own  _ apartment! _ As Steve explained what Tony had in mind - a mirror to Steve's apartment, minus the small kitchenette, with far more doors connecting the rooms than on any of the other floors, Harry's mouth dropped open. 

"That sounds  _ amazing _ ," he said, his little voice full of awe.

～  ～  ～

And so, life went on. Harry got used to living in the tower with a bit of help from JARVIS, who kept him from going to floors he wasn't supposed to. Steve taught Harry how to swim, and, once he'd passed his swim test, Harry was often found swimming around in the pool. 

Tony and Steve made sure Harry had a chance to catch up in all of the subjects Harry didn't know. They found that, once they made sure that Harry knew he was allowed to learn, he couldn't keep his hands off of whatever books he could find. Within the end of his month, Tony and Bruce had both taken to personally tutoring him, giving him a chance to cover topics that other kids his age wouldn't find for several years. As it turned out, Harry loved math, and he couldn't get enough of science.

Steve ended up volunteering to teach him most of history before he'd gone under, and JARVIS took to giving him English, Spelling, Modern History. He and the computer also worked on learning Japanese together, and Harry also asked if he could learn some Chinese and some Korean, once he'd heard about those languages, as well. 

Clint decided to teach him some ASL, which, once Harry learned that his Uncle Clint was deaf, became one of his most important subjects. He was constantly learning and practicing, and he encouraged everyone else in the tower to learn some as well. He'd been very adamant that Uncle Clint shouldn't have to wear his aids if he didn't want to, and the rest of the tower, Pepper included, ended up learning enough to talk to Clint, as well. 

Nat decided that Harry needed to know how to defend himself, so she decided that he would join her in the gym three times a week for "Physical Education" classes. Really, it was just Harry learning gymnastics, martial arts, and whatever else she could throw at the kid - he was so full of energy, and he was always happy to learn from his favourite Aunt (but he'd asked her not tell Aunt Pepper, because he didn't want to hurt her feelings.) 

Although Steve didn't want his little guy to move out of the guest room, Harry got settled into his own space, and he asked JARVIS to help him fill the bookshelves on his walls. Together, they amassed a veritable library of books for Harry to read - which he did, voraciously. Tony often joked that Harry would know more than anyone else in the tower, at the rate he read. 

Two months later, Harry was practically a different person. He had grown due to his body finally getting the nutrients it needed, and he was becoming much more outspoken. As much as his aunt and his uncle had tried to break his spirit, they found that Harry was amazingly resilient. Wherever they went to a floor he was on, his laugh could be heard sweetening the air.

They knew they'd made the right decision when they brought him home.

～  ～  ～

It was during his third month in the Tower, three weeks before his tenth birthday, that the team was called out to deal with an issue. Harry took to pacing, anxiously waiting for the team to come home, and, like he promised, he ran around giving everyone hugs the minute they'd gotten home. JARVIS had been giving him a play-by-play description of everything, and Harry had been so worried! 

Once the team had made sure he knew they were all safe, they all sat together and watched another one of the Studio Ghibli movies. Harry refused to go more than five feet from his dad, needing to know that his dad was okay. That night, Harry slept in Steve's room, not willing to let the man that saved him go. 

"It was so scary, Dad!"

"I know, Har. I'm sorry you were worried."

"It's okay, Dad," Harry had said, hugging his dad tightly. "I just didn't wanna lose you."

"I'm always gonna come home, Har," he said, knowing that, truthfully, he could never actually promise that. 

"I know, Dad." Harry said. "I was really sad, but… You saved so many people, just like you saved me! As scary as it was, I'm happy that you saved them, too."

Hugging his son, Steve said, "I know, Harry. Do you wanna sleep in here tonight?"

"Yeah," Harry said, cuddling up to his dad. Harry normally only slept in Steve's room if he had a nightmare, but… Tonight, they both needed to be around each other. 

～  ～  ～

"I swear, Nat. I know I was supposed to focus on the mission, but all I could think about was how badly I wanted to come home and check on Harry," Steve said.

"I know what you mean. Clint and I couldn't wait to get home, and Tony flew back in his suit instead of waiting for us. It's a lot harder to save the world when you've got someone waiting for you back home" she said. "He's changed the entire tower."

It was true. Before Harry's arrival, no one really spent much time together on the communal floor. They were prone to spending time on their own, or going off in pairs to do things - normally, sparring. Ever since Harry had walked into their lives, however, everyone was almost always found spending time together, even if they weren't doing something together. Harry had claimed a corner of the couch as his own, and he was always there with a book. And, the minute Harry stepped foot onto their communal space, everyone started gravitating up there. Even Tony and Bruce, who normally locked themselves in their labs, made sure to spend at least an hour or two around Harry if he was around - not as teachers, but as family. 

"I don't even want to begin to think about what'll happen when I have to go on a longer mission," Steve admitted. He'd been starting to do some work with SHIELD, but nothing extensive, knowing that he wouldn't be able to leave Harry for too long. Not so soon after adopting him. 

～  ～  ～

Harry's birthday had never been more amazing, the little child thought. His entire family, including Uncle Rhodey and Aunt Pepper, who'd both taken the day off to come and spend time with him in New York, decided to host a big party, and Harry had never had more fun. 

He'd gotten lots of gifts - so many, in fact, that he didn't know what to do with everything. He'd gotten shirts and games, books and technology, and they'd even set up a bounce house in the gym! He'd ran around, having a water balloon fight with everyone - Harry's aim was almost as good as his Uncle Clint's! 

The best part of the day, however, was when Harry got to volunteer at a local orphanage. Harry had asked that, for his birthday, he'd like it if they could do something for all the kids who didn't have moms or dads - they may not have their very own Captain America, or, Super-Dad, as Harry started calling him, but they all deserved to feel some love. 

Harry didn't spend much time outside of the tower, so this was also the first time he'd properly left the building. Clint kept him on his shoulders the entire walk, excited to grant Harry's birthday wish - while he normally hated the PR events they did as Avengers, this felt… special. They weren't doing this out of duty. No, this was an act of love, for Harry.

Harry and the other kids had played all sorts of games together, and Nat and Bruce had taken to drawing with some of the younger kids. Steve, Clint, and several of the older children had started a game of football, and, for that one day, not a single child in the orphanage felt unloved - and, that was the best gift Harry could have ever imagined. 

Harry had asked to have his cake with the other children, so, as he said, "Everyone can enjoy, not just us."

The massive, several-deck cake, was just big enough for everyone to have a few slices. The usually somber place was filled with laughter and happiness, warming the hearts of everyone in the building. 

Tony had vowed to help these children find families of their own, sending out email after email to couples he knew in the company that were hoping to start a family. He also donated $10,000,000 to the orphanage, with the stipulation that the children be given the best childhood they could, in honor of Harry turning ten. Everyone in the building had cried at that.

That night, as Harry snuggled up next to his dad on the couch, ready to watch a movie, he didn't think he'd ever been happier. 

～  ～  ～

Steve was  _ not _ moping. He was watching movies with his kid, and he was having a fantastic day, thank you very much. He was also enjoying a pint of ice-cream. 

If he'd voted to watch a love story every single time it was his turn to pick a movie, then that was hardly his fault. He just liked sappy rom-coms. It had nothing to do with the  _ moment _ he'd shared with Clint during the last mission, and how he felt like Clint had turned him down. 

No, this was bonding time with his son.

"Alright, Dad. Spill. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, kiddo."

"Dad, this is the sixth rom-com you've picked, and you've gone through a whole shop's worth of ice-cream. Something's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong, Har. Come on, we're getting to the good part,"

Harry rolled his eyes. They were getting to the point where the main woman, who'd been scorned by her lover in some way, ended up together with him at the end of the movie.

Harry had to do something… But what?

～  ～  ～

"Come on, Hawky!"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea, Har."

"Come on! You gotta," Harry whined. Ever since Harry had turned ten, he'd made it his mission to set up his Uncle Hawky with his dad. He knew how much Steve valued his time with Clint, and he knew that Clint was head-over-heels in love with his dad. It was now the start of October, and  _ these adults hadn't done ANYTHING! _

"Come on… Please!!"

"Harry, I know you think it's a good idea, but I don't think Cap likes me like that."

"You're impossible. Watch the footage from the last mission," Harry yelled. "If Dad wasn't paying attention to what was going on, he was looking at you! Seriously, one of the lizardmen almost got him because he was busy checking you out!"

At that, Clint made a strangled noise.

"What?"

"I watched the footage of your last fight. Any minute that Dad was watching the team, he was looking at you."

"That can't be right..."

"Clint. I know you and my Dad were talking about dating before he adopted me. I've been here. I've been here five months! You don't have to wait for me to get used to living with you all, I  _ am _ used to it," Harry signed, rolling his eyes.

"Kiddo..."

"Hawky," Harry signed, drawing the sign out. 

"Do you really want me as a second dad," Clint asked, scared for the answer.

"I'm here, asking you to go ask my dad out. He doesn't even know I'm in the range with you. What do you think?"

"What?"

"Pops. Go figure this out! I'm not going anywhere, you're not going anywhere, and Dad's not going anywhere. Figure this out, so I can call you Pops. I'm happy here, but I'd be even more happy if I knew my Dad was happy. With you."

"You're not joking."

Harry gave Clint a remarkably mature look, for someone who'd only just entered double-digits. "You make Dad happy. I love you, Uncle Hawky. Go love my Dad, too."

"I'll… I'll think about it," Clint promised, still taking in the news. 

"Pleaaaaase," Harry voiced, drawing the vowels out as much as he could.

～  ～  ～

"What do you need,  _ detka _ ?"

"Help me get Uncle Clint and my dad together."

"Are they still dancing around each other?"

Harry had quickly become her informant on all things Steve. "It's  _ awful _ . Dad and Clint will have these moments, and then they come back and pretend it never happened, and then they go off to mope. I love hanging out with Dad, but I can't watch another sad rom-com with him!"

"I see."

"It's serious," Harry said, his voice grave. "We need to do something, before New York runs out of ice cream."

"I'm in."

～  ～  ～

Harry and Nat had spent hours planning the perfect set-up. As they worked, Nat realised that their little angel had a notably devious side, as well. One day, if he ever wanted it, he'd be a brilliant SHIELD agent. 

Two weeks later, Steve got a call from Nat, saying that Harry had hurt himself during class and that she needed help.

Clint had gotten an alert from JARVIS, saying that Harry had likely broken a bone and needed immediate assistance. 

Both men raced to the gym, only to find it completely empty. 

"Wha..."

"Steve?"

"Clint?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard Harry was hurt!"

"Same! But… Where is he?"

At that, the doors to the gym shut and locked. Harry's voice rang out, via the announcement system, "We'll let you two out once you  _ finally _ talk!"

Two hours later, Steve and Clint, both looking well-snogged, were let out of the room. Harry and Nat, who'd been watching from the vents, high fived. "Finally."

～  ～  ～

When Harry's dad had gone off to help his Auntie Nat with a mission, he hadn't really thought much of it. By November, Harry was used to his dad going off and saving the world. 

He was not, however, used to… Whatever that was. Before he knew it, he was getting word that his Uncle Fury had been  _ shot _ , and his Dad was declared a fugitive by SHIELD. Nat had sent a warning to Clint, letting him know that SHIELD was compromised, and JARVIS had shut down the residential floors, keeping anyone from being able to get in - just in case someone tried to come for Harry.

"You're gonna be okay," Clint said, "and your Dad is gonna be okay too."

"But… Pops!" Harry said, throwing himself into Clint's arms. "He… He promised he'd always come back… But… How's he gonna do it?"

"I dunno, kiddo. But if I know anything about your dad, it's that he loves you more than anything else in this world. He's not gonna let you go, not now that he has you in his life. He's gonna come back, I just know it," Clint said, hugging Harry tightly. 

"Can… Can we ask JARVIS to watch out for him?"

"We sure can."

～  ～  ～

Standing in the tower's hospital wing, Harry couldn't help but cry. His dad looked so beat up - so… hurt. He couldn't help but think of all the times Vernon had hurt him. This looked  _ worse _ than that! Harry couldn't help but panic, seeing how his father looked. The beeping machines, telling doctors information Harry couldn't begin to understand, sounded angry to Harry's young ears. 

In the following moments, no one would quite understand what happened. They would replay it, via JARVIS, several times, unable to come to a clear conclusion. 

Harry grabbed his father's hand, and, as the tears fell down his cheeks, and, as his Pops demanded his Dad be okay, to heal quickly, Harry felt something inside of him snap.

He  _ refused _ to lose his Dad, not now. Not after he'd finally found someone who'd love him. His dad  _ needed _ to get better. 

To the cameras, it would look like Steve miraculously started healing, as Harry cried and Clint begged.

Inside the room, however, was a different story.

Steve's body was shrouded in a bright, golden light, and, slowly, the cuts on his face began to heal. This was nothing like his accelerated healing - no, this was instantaneous. The bones that had been shattered snapped back to place as the golden light hugged his body, and the wounds all over his body closed, leaving no trace of the pain that had caused them.

Clint stopped, for a moment, watching the miracle unfold. He'd never seen anything like it - it was like magic had enveloped his boyfriend, refusing to let him hurt more than he already had. 

Steve, who, in spite of his super serum, had been fighting for his life, struggling to overcome the injuries that threatened to leave Harry without his Dad. And then, suddenly, he felt at peace, the pain that had been tormenting him disappearing. Instead, he was bathed in warmth - it was as if someone had wrapped him in Affection and healed him with Love. Captain America had been on the brink of death, and, by all of the rules that governed Death, had been sentenced to the end, when someone came and saved him. Someone who'd flagrantly rewritten the rules, because  _ no one _ was going to take Harry's Dad from him. He refused. 

Slowly, Steve opened his eyes, and saw Clint. But Clint wasn't looking at Steve - no, he was looking at Harry. Turning his head, Steve understood why. Harry was wrapped in the same golden light that had healed him, head bowed, tears falling. His grip on Steve's hand was like a vice, and he had no intention of letting go.

"Harry."

"Da… Dad?!" Harry cried out, shocked. "You're… You're alive!"

"Yeah, Har." Steve said, tears falling down his own face.

He didn't know how, but Harry had saved him. That, he knew, with every fibre of his being. Harry was the only reason he'd healed. "Promised you I would always come home, didn't I?"

～  ～  ～

Outside the hospital room, Natasha, Tony, and Bruce shared a look. They knew Steve  _ shouldn't _ have survived the attack. He  _ couldn't _ . They hadn't seen the golden light - they didn't know what happened. But, one thing was clear.

"Call Thor. We need him on planet, _now_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! What did you think? 
> 
> I'm going to be mixing the MCU and HP timelines a bit, so things might be a bit out of order. For my MCU fan friends, you'll know that we've gotten through The Avengers + CA:WS. I figured that, since the movie is kinda hard to mess with, plus, it's already cannon, I'd stick to that. I didn't see the point in repeating what's already been established as cannon - also, now we have an excuse as to why Clint never showed up! 
> 
> I admittedly don't know how I feel about the end of this chapter - I'm worried it's a bit rushed.  
> What do you all think? 
> 
> ALSO! I just saw this story passed 100 kudos? You all are AMAZING and I am so happy you are enjoying this story!! Stay amazing <3
> 
> Note - you'll see I've added a chapter cap to this story! We've got two more "real" chapters to go, and then I'll post the first chapter of the next story with the last chapter of this (it'll be a teaser for the next story), so you'll get notified when the next story comes up if you've not subscribed to the series. We should see this story wrapping up before the end of next week, and then - Hogwarts! 
> 
> Hope you're having a great day!!


	6. Thor, The Asgardian Master of Having a Panic Attack Because Your Son is Actually a Very Nice Warlock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor's introduction to Harry doesn't go as well as planned.

The first thing Steve heard was a small voice, saying "Dad! Dad! Please wake up, Dad!"

Harry was huddled over his father's body, crying, fearing that he'd lost the man who'd taken him in. "I can't lose you, Dad. Not now… No," Harry cried. 

Steve felt like he had been hit with a truck, but, desperate to ease his son's anguish, he made every effort to move his hand, just a little bit. He was too exhausted to manage much more, but he couldn't leave his child there, crying.

Vaguely, he saw Clint and Natasha in the corner, looking concerned and surprised. 

"Har," Clint said, "look!"

"His hand! Dad! Dad!"

As Steve felt his advanced healing kick in, he tried to smile at Harry. "I'm here," he said, his throat like sandpaper. 

"Dad!" Harry said. There was no mistaking the joy in his voice as his father slowly moved.

"Not gonna leave you yet, little guy," Steve said, fighting the pain of talking to make sure his son was reassured. 

～  ～  ～

In the two weeks that followed, Steve slowly, but surely, made a full recovery. The doctors were amazed at how quickly he regained his health. Even with his advanced healing, they'd said, they hadn't been sure if he'd pull through, let alone fully recover. And, yet, Steve felt better than ever.

It was concerning, if Clint was being honest. He was very glad that his boyfriend was alive, but he couldn't help but find the event a bit… uncomfortable. He'd watched the tape of Harry healing Steve countless times at this point, unable to accept that, somehow, the kid who called up Hawky was capable of something so… evil. Then again, there had clearly been nothing evil about what Harry had done - no, it was nothing like how Loki had treated him. He knew Harry, as well as Steve did, if not better, by this point. There wasn't a mean bone in the kid's body, so he certainly wasn't about to start subjugating the Earth to serve his every whim. 

He'd been off-kilter since Steve woke up, unable to marry the image of Harry, the boy who loved raspberry ice cream, forced the team to learn sign language for his benefit, and would get pizza with him no matter what time it was, with Harry Potter, the wizard who, clearly, had some power. 

As hard as he tried to keep it from Steve and Harry, both of them were noticing that he was not okay. So, when Harry was off in class with Tony, Steve decided to sit down and talk with Clint. Their relationship, in part because of Harry, and in part because of their jobs, had been somewhat intense - Clint was in Steve's bed more nights than not, especially before the attacks. He'd suffered the occasional PTSD-related nightmare before - they all did, it was part of the job. Now, however, Clint had not had a night without a nightmare since Steve woke up. He needed answers. 

He found Clint on the range, and he decided to watch for a bit as his boyfriend emptied his quiver. As the last arrow left his bow, hitting the bullseye, as usual, Steve started to clap. In his eyes, one of the most beautiful things in the world was watching Clint so focused. "Nice job, handsome," he called out.

"Enjoy the show, did you," Clint fired back.

"'Course I did, got to see you!"

"Shucks, Cap. You'll make a guy think you like lookin' at him," Clint said, laughing. Steve walked up and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, giving him a quick peck on the lips. 

"I sure plan on making sure he knows I  _ do _ like lookin' at him," Steve said, smiling.

"As much as I love the attention, what's up? You don't normally come down here."

Walking them over to a bench, Steve said, "I'm worried 'bout you, Clint."

"What? How come?"

"Clint, I know you get nightmares. They've been getting worse, and I wanna be there for you, but I don't know how."

"You… You know about the nightmares?"

"Babe, you sleep next to me at least four nights out of seven. I've been up and fine for two weeks now, but… I don't think you're fine."

"I..."

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't wanna," Steve said, wanting to reassure his boyfriend just as much as he wanted to see him get help. "I just wanna make sure you have someone you can talk to, if you want it."

"I… I appreciate it, Steve. I've been wanting to talk to you, too, actually."

"Oh, what about?"

"The reason for the nightmares. I just… I don't know how you'll take it."

"What do you mean?"

Not answering his question, Clint instead called out, "JARVIS, can you pull up the footage I was last watching? Start from you-know-when."

"Did something happen on a mission?"

"Just… Just watch the clip, Steve."

And so, Steve finally saw how he'd evaded Death. To be honest, he had no clue what to think. It was painfully clear that Harry had, in some way, used magic. However, most curiously, it was nothing like the magic he'd come across before, with Loki or the Tesseract. There was quite obviously no intention to harm anyone in the magic Harry had done, but… Still, he'd been the… victim didn't seem like the right word, not in this context. 

The beneficiary?

He'd been the beneficiary of some kind of magic.

"Have you… Have you talked to Thor? Or Harry, himself?"

"We called Thor, but he's off-planet. I've got no clue when he'll be back. As for Harry… I didn't want to do anything without talking to you," Clint explained. "There's more, Steve."

"What?"

"Steve, your vitals were crashing when Harry went in. You had maybe an hour or two left, because you just weren't healing. The damage was too great. We let him in, so he could say goodbye… I watched it happen myself, Harry didn't  _ just _ heal you. He saved your life."

"So. We've got an example of magic not being evil, then."

"Yeah."

"And that magic was done by my son."

"Correct."

"And we know nothing about his parents, other than that his mother's sister was a bitch who married a sadist."

"Sounds about right."

"And you've been stuck dealing with this since I got back."

"Yeah..."

"Fuck, Clint, no wonder your nightmares were bad," Steve said, rushing his boyfriend into a tight hug. 

"I wanted to be so happy that you were alive… But fuck, Steve… Even if it's Harry, I'm fucking terrified of magic. I can't lose control again, I have too much to lose now. I'm still not over what happened with Loki, but the idea of hurting any of you? I'd rather die."

"You know that we'd never let that happen to you, not again."

"Yeah."

"Besides, it's Har. As scary as this all is, you and I both know that kid. He'd never do anything to hurt anyone else. He didn't even want the people that abused him to be treated too harshly, and he hates them."

"I'd do anything I could to keep you safe," Harry's voice said, from behind them. "But I get it if you want to send me away," he said, his voice full of torturous sadness.

At that, Clint's heart broke. Even if he was terrified of what Harry could do, he was still Harry. That had to count for something - there's no way Harry would become like Loki.

"Kiddo, you're never getting rid of us," Clint said, rushing to give him a hug. Fear be damned, Harry was more important. 

"But… I'm a freak," Harry said. "That… That's what Uncle Vernon would say, when he'd hurt me."

"What," Clint asked, confused. He was scared of Harry's magic, but that's because it was  _ magic _ . The idea of hurting Harry for it… That made him just as sick as thinking about Loki.

"Harry," Steve said, crouching down to get eye-to-eye with his son, who was still experiencing the effects of Clint temporarily becoming a human octopus. "What do you mean, they'd call you a freak."

"Sometimes… When I'd get really scared, or when I'd get really excited… Things would happen. Like… Once, Dudley and his friends were chasing me around the school. I had to get really fast, because they liked to chase me and hit me. But… One day, I tripped, and I thought they were gonna catch me." Harry said, not wanting to meet his dad's eyes. "But… instead of them being able to find me, I… I ended up on the roof of the school."

"On the roof?"

"It just… happened. When Uncle Vernon found out, he said I wasn't allowed to have any food for a week, because I'd done…  _ funny business _ ."

"Harry, had something like that occurred other times? Things you can't explain, I mean."

"Uh… Yeah. Once, my teacher's wig turned blue. She kept saying I was too stupid to do anything, and I got really sad, and then her wig… just turned blue."

"Like you were feeling?"

"Yeah!"

"Any other times?"

"Once… Aunt Petunia was trying to make me wear a sweater that didn't fit Dudley anymore, but it was really scratchy and I kept wanting to sneeze whenever she brought it near me, and it… shrunk. Like it had been in the washer. Another time, she gave me the worst haircut ever. She buzzed my head, except for my bangs, so no one could see my scar. It was so embarrassing, because I already didn't have friends, and I thought no one would like me. The next morning, my hair was back to being as long as it had been."

"So… Whenever you feel a really strong emotion, something you don't understand happens?"

"I… yeah, I guess. There was one other time, but it was kinda scary."

"You can tell us," Clint said, still holding Harry close. 

"Dudley. We'd gone to the zoo, and… Missus Figg, she'd broken her ankle the day before, so she couldn't look after me, like normal. They… They didn't want to take me, but they had to, because they didn't want me alone in the house. So, we went to the zoo, and I really liked the snake exhibit. Well, I… I sorta started talking to a boa constrictor, and it made me really sad, because it never got to know its parents, just like me! The snake had been sleeping when Dudley looked at it, but he saw that it had woken up, and he pushed me to the ground so he could look at the snake… And then the glass disappeared! And he fell in! And the snake said it wanted to hurt him… But I begged it not to! So it just… slid out. And then, when Dudley tried to get out of the snake enclosure, the… the glass came back. He was stuck inside, and the snake had slithered out. I don't think they ever found the snake, but Uncle Vernon locked me in the cupboard and wouldn't give me any food for two weeks..."

"Were you really hurt, when he pushed you?"

"Yeah!! It hurt so bad, I thought I broke my wrist."

"He did have a fracture, the doctors had said. When they looked at his wrist, they said he'd broken it a year or two ago, but it was a clean break."

"That's when I fell!"

"So… Harry..."

"Yes," he asked, voice small.

"Harry, were you really scared and sad when I got injured?"

"Of course!! I was so worried you were never going to wake up! You're my dad, and I've already lost one of those, and the scariest thing I can ever remember is you in the hospital bed… I'd already lost one dad, but I couldn't lose you, too!"

"Do you… do you think your uncle would have called it… what was it, funny business, the way I got healed?"

"Probably..."

"Do you think the same thing would happen, if Hawky got hurt?"

"You're not hurt, are you," Harry asked, panicked. 

"No kiddo, I'm okay," Clint said. He didn't want to mention his mental trauma, the turmoil that he had felt. Oddly, as soon as Harry asked, all the jagged edges in his mind, from where Loki had ruined his life, smoothed. Not to the point that they were nonexistent, but they became manageable. For the past two weeks, Clint had been drowning in memories and flashbacks, but, now, he felt as if someone had thrown him a life-preserver. It was as if it was magic.

No, that's exactly what it was.

Harry, not consciously aware that Clint had been hurting, had somehow sensed it. Not only that, but he'd… He didn't abandon Clint to the pain. He gave Clint hope. Clint had always thought of what Loki did as mental stab wounds that had never properly healed - the past two weeks, he'd felt every single one of those pains reopen, violently, as he faced the potential for magic.

Harry had, somehow, cleaned and stitched every single wound shut, giving Clint a reprieve he didn't know he'd needed. 

Steve watched, in awe, as his son and Clint were enveloped in a yellowish light. Clint seemed to be calm, though - this was nothing like the violent blue of the scepter. No, this was… loving. 

This was Harry.

As the light began to fade, Clint slowly unwrapped himself from the kid he'd begun to think of as a nephew or a younger brother. As family, for sure. "I dunno what you did, but… Wow. I haven't felt this good in years," Clint admitted.

"So you're not going to send me away," Harry asked, unsure if he should be fearful or hopeful.

"Harry. We're never going to ask you to leave," Clint said, not even needing to look at Steve for confirmation.

"You're stuck with us, no matter what," Steve said, coming over and hugging his son. 

"I don't know what it is you can do, Harry, but your  _ funny business _ is amazing. You healed me, and I don't know what you just did to Clint, but I reckon, whatever it was, he needed it."

"I did something to help you two," Harry asked, shocked.

"You did. Harry, the only reason I'm alive is because of whatever you did. You saved me, little guy. You're a hero."

"A hero," Harry said, in awe. "I… I've always wanted to be able to help people, like me. People who needed saving."

"I think your dream came true, little buddy." 

～  ～  ～

Thor had been having a fantastic morning. He'd sparred with Týr, and then he'd trained with the Warrior Three and Sif. He was planning on surprising Jane with a visit, as it had been too long since he'd seen her. He'd even found out that Loki was likely to be removed from his cell, and returned to his rooms. While he may not be given permission to leave them again, he was glad that his brother was being given the treatment of a king. 

Thor did not condone his actions, but, they were raised as brothers. He'd always accept his brother, even if blood denied their bond.

As he went down to the newly-repaired Bifrost, he was happy to see Heimdall. "Heimdall! How have your days been, good friend," Thor said, clapping him on the back. 

"Prince Thor! I am glad to see you. I have news of your American friends."

"Ah, what news? It is good, I should hope."

"The good captain, Steven Rogers. He was brutally attacked."

"What?!"

"His son… I've never seen anything like it."

"His son attacked him? I must go and smite this fool. Take me to him!" Thor yelled, jumping into the Bifrost before he could be stopped. 

"Odin help him…"

His prayer fell on unlistening ears.

～  ～  ～

Thor landed on the helipad of the tower, hammer at the ready, intent on revenge against the monster that had harmed his comrade. He stalked inside, ready for an intense fight. 

Steve and Clint were nowhere to be seen, but he saw a small Midgardian sitting on the chair that Steve often claimed as his own. 

"Foul child," Thor screamed, ready for battle. The kid looked around, confused, and Thor directed a beam of lightning at the small heathen. 

Harry went from confused to defensive in seconds. This man was… not nice. He dodged to the left, wincing as the television bore the brunt of this man's attack. Auntie Nat had taught him self-defence, but she'd never really covered how to handle… extraterrestrial attacks? Men wielding lightning? "Who are you," Harry called, getting ready to run.

It had been ages since he'd had to run from Dudley, but that didn't mean he didn't still have the skills he'd need. 

"I am Thor Odinson, and I am here to avenge my fallen brother, you foul thing," Thor cried out, getting ready for another blast of lightning.

As the strange man… Thor? Wasn't he supposed to have an Uncle Thor, Harry thought…  _ Wait! What if he got mind-controlled like Clint? _

Harry decided to run. He took off, before the giant man could get another shot off. And so, they ran through the penthouse, Harry dodging every attack that the Asgardian could manage. 

If Thor hadn't been so consumed with rage, he would have been greatly impressed with the small thing's speed and agility. The boy managed to miss every single attack, experly evading everything Thor threw at him. 

Harry took off for the stairs, realising how little shelter he'd find in the now-destroyed penthouse. He raced down the stairs, the lumbering man moving much less agilely. "Where to go," Harry wondered out loud. "The gym!"

Harry knew that his uncle and father were likely sparring there, and they were trained professionals. They'd be able to protect him, he hoped. Moving to take the stairs two or three at a time, Harry flew down the stairs, running as if his life depended on it.

To be fair, it kind of did.

Soon, he raced into the gym. "Dad, Dad! Help!"

Steve and Clint, who'd both looked over when the door was flung over, immediately tensed. Soon he raced past them. Something was chasing their kid… Something had put Harry in danger. 

As they saw who it was, they both relaxed. They both thought that Harry must have just been playing with Thor.

They both realised how wrong they were when he fired a beam of lightning at Harry, hurling Mjölnir after it. Steve reached for his shield, but he wouldn't be able to save Harry in time.

It was as if time stood still, when it looked like both attacks were about to hit Harry, when… they didn't. Harry had crouched down, throwing his hands up in front of him as if trying to protect himself, when an energy shield materialised around him. The lightning, instead of hitting the shield, absorbed into the shield, and Mjölnir stopped right in front of the protection, dropping to the ground. 

"Thor, what the fuck!"

"He attacked Steve! I heard the good American Captain was in the hospital… Wait, Steven?"

"Why are you attacking my son?!"

"He attacked you!!"

"What?"

"What?"

"I'd never hurt my Dad," Harry cried out, from his position on the floor.

"Stand down, Thor. Harry's my kid. He'd never hurt anyone," Steve said, moving to stand between the Asgardian and Harry.

"But… Heimdall said..."

"Honestly, brother. You think you'd learn to listen," Loki said. 

～  ～  ～

Frigga ran to Loki's room, realising just how much danger her son would cause the small boy. He'd never forgive himself for slaughtering an infant, and there was only one person who could stop him. 

She banged against his door, hoping that he'd open.

"Mother… What a surprise," he said, opening the door. "Did Odin send you to interrogate me more?"

"I don't have time for your pettiness, Loki. There is an issue of dire importance that requires your attention," Frigga said.

"And what could be so important that it necessitates you running down here?"

"And… Do you remember the name Lily Evans?"

"Lily Evans… Of course. She was the child of a Once Blessed Line. Your work, I believe, mother. I bestowed a second blessing to her mother. She was particularly ferocious, and I thought it was worth rewarding. Of what importance is she?"

"She gave birth to a son."

"And, what is the importance of her spawn?"

"Loki, she gave birth to a son with a child of another Twice Blessed Line."

"What?! By whom?!"

"Odin, first, and then… Thor."

"Odin's right eye… James Potter?"

"Yes," Frigga said, hanging her head. "I did not know of his existence until moments ago, Loki. Otherwise I'd have come to you and Thor immediately."

"And yet you came to me, before Thor?"

"That's part of the problem..."

"Mother, what is going on?"

"Thor has taken off for Midgard. He seeks to destroy the child, because he believes it to have harmed Steven Rogers of the Avengers."

"Fuck. Does he not know of the child's parentage?"

"Nay, he knows naught."

"Mother, I know I am to be shackled here… But the child's in serious danger."

"Consider the bonds lifted, Loki Odinson, or Loki Laufeyson. However you rather be known, save that child fully, and consider any debt you owe our world paid in full. Hurry, Loki!"

～  ～  ～

The child was particularly impressive. His shield, or, using the Midgardian terminology, his  _ Protego _ , was phenomenal. Not only had it managed to keep Thor's attack at bay, it had also managed to block  _ Mjölnir! _

"Brother? What are you doing here?"

"Mother dearest sent me to save the child. It would appear he didn't need much help," Loki said, unable to keep his appreciation for the child's power out of his voice. 

"What the fuck are you doing here," Barton, the hunter, asked, drawing his bow at the Asgardian trickster.

"What the heck is going on," the boy peeped. 

So small, and yet so powerful, Loki mused. He couldn't wait to see what chaos the child created as an adult. 

"Believe it or not, Clinton Barton, I am here to protect the child from my brother. He left Asgard before hearing the full story about the good Captain's attack, and thought it done by his son. Had he bothered to wait for the full tale, he'd have known that the child was the cause of his friend's healing, not his brush with death. I come under orders from Frigga herself," Loki said, smugly.

"Be that as it may," Steve said, "I don't remember you being invited back to our planet,  _ Loki _ ."

The small child, who'd stood up, looked at Loki incredulously. " _ That's _ Loki? But… What? Where's the costume?"

"What," Loki asked. Apparently, it was his turn to be confused. 

"The Dung Beetle helmet. You know, when you attacked the world and were all evil? You had that stupid helmet."

And that, that was not what Loki expected from the boy. Apparently, none of the other adults expected that, either. As Loki sputtered trying to craft a response, the others burst into laughter. It seemed everyone forgot the danger Loki could pose - even Loki himself. 

"I'll have you know, that was a very spectacular Asgardian war helmet," Loki said, trying to find a response. 

"It looked like a Dung Beetle, dude. Which, to be fair, your plan to take over the world? Kinda shit. So it's fitting. I mean, six people managed to stop you. What happened to you being a god among men?"

Loki wasn't sure if he wanted to admire the child's gall and sass, or if he should be offended. 

"Harry… You should get out of here. Loki's dangerous," Steve said, coming to his senses. 

"Believe it or not, Captain, I am not here to harm the child. No, I am here to protect him from my blundering brother's stupidity," he said. "The child is of Asgard, and I would not dare try and do him harm. Not when he has the All-Mother's protection in his veins."

"What," Thor asked. 

"Lily Evans's child. The one you tried to smite? He wears your blessing, brother. And mine, and those of the All-Father and All-Mother."

"What?!"

Harry, Clint, and Steve watched as Thor's face went through several different emotions. 

"My child, I am sorry," Thor said, face finally deciding on crestfallen.

"I'm sorry… Someone want to fill us in?"

～  ～  ～

They'd opted for a conference room. Each of the Avengers, Harry, and Loki locked themselves in a room. Per Harry and Clint's insistence, plenty of pizza was available, as well. 

"So, allow me to begin my lesson in Asgardian blessings," Loki said, unable to believe that his life had become this. He'd been in line to rule Asgard, at one point! Granted, he did try and destroy both Asgard and the planet he was currently on, but that was neither here nor there.

"Please, Tony, others, do leave your questions until the end. Child, if you have any questions, feel free to ask."

"My name's Harry."

"Harry, don't tell the homicidal Asgardian your name," Clint shushed. 

"To begin… I suppose I owe you all an apology. I was not of sound mind when we first met. Particularly to you, Barton. I am well aware my actions harmed you the most," he said. He hated apologising, but… it seemed that Harry, this Midgardian child of Asgardian blood, found them important.

At that, Clinton Barton shut up. He had never expected to hear… That.

"Now, you all are curious as to why the All-Mother would want to save the small child among you. Allow me to explain. Asgardians are commonly thought of as gods among your people, due to our extended lifetimes. In addition, we have powers unlike the typical Midgardian. And, when on Midgard, should we ever need to explain our existence, we use the term as it is the easiest. However, what is more accurate, is the term Master, at least for the Asgardians who've come to Earth. As you all attributed godhood to our abilities, we recognise them as a Mastery. For example, I am the Master of Trickery, Lies, and Mischievous Magic. Thor, for example, is the Master of Lightning and the Skies."

"Okay, so… different terms. What does that mean in useful terms, Rock of Ages?"

"I was getting to that. We also have the power to… bless, you might say, a family. It requires attaching the backing of our own magic to a line."

"That's what you meant by Once and Twice blessed families, then," Harry surmised.

"Exactly. Harry is the child of two Twice Blessed Lines. A first, in the history of Asgard, if we are being honest. His mother, Lily Evans, was from a family blessed by Frigga, for their maternal instincts and love of others."

"Aunt Petunia was blessed for love?"

"It can skip children, if they're not deemed worthy," Loki said. "I don't recall a Petunia Evans ever being listed in the Book of Blessings, so I don't imagine she received it."

"Serves the cow right," Clint muttered. 

"I have no clue if she deserved it or not, however I will be happy to investigate. All three Evans children should have received my blessing, but I would be quite interested in knowing why one of them might not have," Loki admitted.

"Wait… I have another Aunt," Harry asked, confused. 

Had anyone else asked the question, Loki would have snapped at them. However, Harry was special. "Yes, did you not know," he asked, confused. 

"I only heard about the one… She was mean."

"I assume you didn't have to see her often, though, you'd have been with your mother, correct? I am admittedly unsure how you came into Captain Roger's care..."

"My mom and dad are dead… They have been for as long as I remember..."

"What?! Harry, we'll discuss that more. I am in desperate need of the information, as will be Thor."

"Why?"

"I'll explain in a moment, dear child. Just wait a moment."

"Okay," Harry said, nodding. 

Steve and Clint both pursed their lips. This was… Strange. Loki being nice, particularly to Steve's son was… Strange.

"The children of these lines are more powerful than the average Midgardian," Loki said. "Some, nay, many, in fact, are even able to channel magic themselves. Something I've been told you've become aware of, in young Harry," he said, giving Steve and Clint a look. "That is the reason Thor could not harm him, when he attacked him."

"You attacked Harry," Natasha, Bruce, and Tony all yelled at once. 

Thor just looked sheepish.

"We will get to that in a second. Now, a Once-Blessed line will create a line of stronger-than-normal magical users. And yes, Anthony, before you ask, there are groups of magic users on this planet, as well. You just don't know about them. A twice-blessed line, doubly so. However, there have only ever been four twice-blessed lines in all of Midgardian history," Loki said. "The number of Once-Blessed lines is also few, yet they do exist. When they merge, they create beings of great power, more than the usual. You would recognise them as Demi-Gods. Half-Asgardian, in magic, at least. Unable to attain Masteries, yet powerful enough to begin to tap into the potential. As I said, they are few."

"Does that mean that a child of two Twice Blessed Lines would be a full Asgardian?"

"Very good, Harry. Although it has never actually happened, theory dictates that you would have the power of a full-blooded Asgardian. You'd potentially inherit the lifespan, as well. I, admittedly, do not know much. There isn't much to know, unfortunately."

"Okay… What does that have to do with you," Steve asked. 

"As it stands, Harry here will be given an Asgardian title. He is the inheritor of the blessings of Odin, Frigga, Thor, and myself. The entire royal family, in essence, has blessed your child. That will make him remarkably strong, even among Asgardians. As Thor and I are the two most recent, on both sides, that would mean we would take the role of your Asgardian… parents, I suppose, is the best term. On Asgard, you'd be recognised as Harry Thorson."

"What? Why does it automatically go to him," Harry asked. He was sure Thor was nice, but he had  _ just _ been attacked by the man.

"First, he is the first Asgardian, of those who have blessed you, to have contact with you. Secondly, as he blessed James Potter's line, you would be seen as his Asgardian child."

"My dad's name was James?"

At that, Thor and Loki both looked concerned. "Harry… Did you not know of your family's magical heritage?"

"My family was magic?!"

"Yes… Was your aunt not?"

"No… They'd punish me whenever I did… freaky stuff."

"Freaky stuff? Like this," Loki said, summoning a flame. 

"Yeah," Harry said, backing into his chair as far as he could. 

"There is nothing to fear, child. You are of my blood, as well. I would never do you harm. As it is, I regret doing the damage I did to those you call family."

"So, you're telling us that Harry's the child of a witch and a wizard, and that he's an Asgardian god?"

"In essence, yes. However, the proper term would be witch and warlock. They prefer to use wizard as a gender-neutral plural, or to refer to those in the magic community to which the gendered variants do not feel appropriate," Loki explained off-handedly. 

"Did you know my parents?"

"Aye," Thor said. "I personally blessed James' line, Harry. My apologies for not recognising you as one of my own," he said, hanging his head in shame. 

"Does this mean Thor's now his dad," Steve said. He loved his friend, but he viewed Harry as a son.

"Yes and no. On Asgard, he'd be given societal power based on Thor. However, you are still his father in terms of Midgard's laws. Should he ever need a representative in the magical world, however, Thor would be able to step in, as he has fully developed magical gifts. You all, however… Wait a moment," Loki said, looking confused. 

He cast a quick diagnostic spell, to try and unravel his confusion. 

"You… you all are Once-Blessed."

"What," they collectively asked. 

Reading the results out loud, he said, "Anthony has the blessings of Odin's line, as does Doctor Banner. Clint bears the blessings of Odin and Freyja, from your mother's line. Your impeccable sight is a form of seiðr, although an iteration that I've never seen brought forth so literally.. Steven, you carry weapons-master Týr's blessing, it seems. And Natalia… this can't be."

"You're one of mine..."

"What?"

"But you carry Frigga's line, as well… This can't be."

"Why?"

"We've only ever both blessed two lines, and neither were ever in Russia. One was British, and the other American. And for you to have my blessing, it would have to be recent."

"What do you mean?"

"You… If you'll give me the permission, I'd like to cast a Spell of Ancestry."

"I never knew my father. I'm not sure what it will tell you."

"I believe I know already, but I would like the confirmation."

She nodded, tersely. After a moment, a look of shock passed across Loki's face.

"My daughter… I'm so sorry."

"What?"

"You… you're Harry's second aunt. Natasha Romanoff, née Natasha Evans. You must have been stolen from the hospital as a child," Loki said, frowning. 

"How did you not recognise her, when you first met her," Harry asked. 

"That is a good question. There's… There's dark magic on you, Miss Romanoff. I don't recognise it, but… I can research it, should you want me to."

Looking at Harry, whose eyes were as wide as saucers, she said, "Please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry y'all, I meant to get this chapter done yesterday but I was feeling pretty exhausted. I didn't get nearly as much writing done yesterday/today as I'd hoped, so I'll be dedicating tomorrow to finishing this story! 
> 
> What do you think of this chapter? :)
> 
> The Asgardian mythology introduced in this chapter will be incredibly important as the story goes on (just a heads up ;) ) 
> 
> As you can see, the story I'm writing obviously will be pretty different from cannon. Next chapter, we'll be dealing with Loki more, as well as beginning to learn the basics of magic. Expect that one by Friday! :) [Friday, because I'll hopefully be posting two or three chapters from the second story, as well!] 
> 
> Just wondering, with Loki and Thor as Asgardian parents... What House do you think Harry will get sorted into? :D
> 
> Last thing - knowing how JK Rowling has made certain groups feel unwelcome in the community... I wanna make it clear that, be you witch, wizard, or warlock, you're always welcome in this re-write.


	7. Training, Talking, Tumbling, and… Tacos.

Learning about magic had changed the entirety of the tower. Before, they'd known about Loki, and they'd just assumed he was Magic - to learn that he was simply magic… It was certainly news. Moreover, the fact that the child that they all loved and adored was a powerful warlock? Talk about life-changing. 

Then again, in practically the same conversation, they'd also learned that they all were, in some form, magic. That had been universe-shattering, truthfully. However, as badly as they wanted to focus on that, they had a little mage to teach. 

Over the next few weeks, Harry continued his more… Earthly studies, as one might call them. He'd moved faster than they'd expected - then again, his magi-gramps was Odin, God of Wisdom. Looking back, the voracious pace at which Harry tried to learn made a lot more sense. How else was a ten year old supposed to understand math and science material that students seven years his senior struggled through with relative ease?

It had gotten to the point that Tony and Bruce had run out of things to put on the syllabus. In part, because Harry lived with his teachers, and, in part, because Harry didn't have… no, Harry didn't  _ want _ breaks, they moved through material faster than even Tony could have covered. 

Instead of bedtime stories, Harry learned about history, or read. No one in the house was particularly keen on pushing Harry to read Jane Eyre, and not even Pepper, the most artistic of the group, thought that Harry should have to suffer through Shakespeare. 

He wasn't keen on abandoning one world, just because he'd been offered the chance to experience a new one. So, just as he had before Loki's bombshell, Harry did what he did best. He  _ learned _ . There was no book that Harry wouldn't tackle - now, he found himself reading in all four languages he was comfortable in. Also, while he wasn't about to tell Nat, he was learning Russian for her. And, although he'd asked JARVIS to hide it from his dad, he'd bought a copy of  _ Gaeilge gan Stró _ to learn some Irish, because he knew his dad missed speaking it with his mother.

She'd taken the news that they were family remarkably well, all things considered, however that hadn't stopped her from hiding for a week. The problem with living with a superspy was that, when she didn't want to be found, no one found her. 

Ultimately, Harry had been the one to find her first. Harry may have had chaos in his blood, quite literally, thanks to Loki's magic, but he was Steve Rogers's son at heart. And, that meant, he was stubborn as hell. 

"Aunt Nat!"

"Harry? Wait, how did you find me?"

"Not important. You're hiding."

"..."

"I can tell you're thinking and you're hurting, and I don't wanna leave you alone if you're sad. So, I'm gonna sit next to you, and talk if you want, but I'm not gonna abandon you. You didn't leave me under the cupboard, so I'm not gonna leave you in your sad."

"Harry... "

Not letting her finish, he crawled over and gave her the biggest hug he could muster.

"Harry..."

"Aunty Tasha, you were my aunty before. You're still my aunt, now even more than before."

"But Harry… You got abandoned there! I didn't do anything to save you!"

At that, Harry fixed his aunt a  _ look _ . "Aunty Tasha, what is the first thing you did when you saw me?"

"I..."

"You shot Vernon Dursley."

"You remember that? We… We thought you'd passed out."

"I had. But… I remember bits. I remember the sound of your gun. I didn't know that's what it was, but I heard it. And I have heard you on the range before. It's the same sound."

"Oh Harry..."

"No, Aunty Nat. I need you to listen. You didn't even know I existed, before you met me. The first thing you did, when you saw me, was protect me from a monster trying to hurt me. You didn't know we were family, you didn't know that Dad was going to adopt me - no, you just knew that I wasn't safe, and that you had to do something. The  _ minute _ you knew I existed, you saved me. I am not gonna let you sit here and beat yourself up for giving me the greatest gift anyone has ever given me. That's just… No."

"Harry… If I'd known sooner..."

"If you'd known sooner, then you'd have saved me sooner. But, Aunty Tash… it never changes. No matter when you would have found out about me, you'd have rescued me. Just like  _ you did _ ."

"Harry..."

"I'm never going to be mad at you, Aunty. You, Uncle Tony, Dad, Bruce, Hawky… Which, by the way, it feels really weird to call him Uncle Hawky knowing he's dating my Dad. I think I'm gonna have to stop calling him uncle… I don't think Dads and Uncles are supposed to date," Harry said, with a giggle. "You saved me, and that's all that matters. That fact that we're actually family just makes every day better, but it's because of you all that I get to have good days in the first place."

Not sure what to say, she just held him tight. They sat like that for no-one knew how long, and, for the first time in Odin knew how long, Natasha Romanoff cried - for the loving, amazing child who'd been trapped under the cupboard, for the girl that Natasha could have become, and for the fact that, and for the fact that, even though life had kept them apart, they'd still managed to get free, in their own ways. 

～  ～  ～

No one quite knew how Harry had managed to find his way into the vents. Really, it was quite a mystery for everyone. 

Even more of a mystery, however, was how Harry had managed to find Nat. Although she did not frequently disappear to sulk, it was a well known fact that she would sulk for up to a month if not on a mission. No one could find her, not even her best friend and fellow spy. 

If anyone doubted Harry's magic before, they certainly didn't now.

"We're getting ice cream," Harry announced, walking with his aunt towards the doors. "Let's go!"

～  ～  ～

Loki and Thor returned a few weeks after they'd first left. They returned on Christmas, excited at the chance to help the young one learn how to control his Asgardian powers. 

They were not expecting a costume party.

Walking out to greet the Asgardian guests, Tony said, "Point Break! Dung Brain! Good to see you two!"

"Anthony! What is the reason for this strange garb," Thor asked, pointing at the Santa costume that Tony was wearing. 

Loki, however, was irritated that his nickname had changed. "Really,  _ Iron Man _ , Dung Brain was the best you could do?"

"What? Shortcake was right, the whole horns/helmet thing made you look like a dung beetle. I'm bummed I didn't see it before, Shit for Brains." 

"I'm charmed. And, pray tell, what are you supposed to be dressed as?"

"I'm Santa, obviously. 

"Who is this Santa? Is he friend or foe," Thor asked. 

"Uh… He's fake. Right, come on in. Jane's waiting for you inside, Thor, figured you'd wanna see your Super Amazing Lady of Science Awesomeness. Your SALSA."

"My SALSA? Did you not teach me that that went on those small fried potatoes?" Thor asked, confused. 

"It's Christmas, Thor. The Midgardians do not celebrate Yule, not anymore. At least, they don't. Harry will likely pick up the tradition, at least a bit."

"Do wizards not do Christmas?"

"Some do. However, the majority of the older families prefer to stick to the more pagan holidays. It's not a matter of religion, then again, the majority of your holidays are designed to match the religious days of olde anyway. The majority of families do both, however."

"Interesting..."

"Quite. Now, I assume the focus of tonight is letting young Harry have a good time?"

"Got it in one. Just wait until Harry gives his present," Tony said, smirking.

Santa and his jolly Asgardians walked back inside, and someone started passing around hot chocolate. Thor had to leave the party, for a bit, to speak with Jane - apparently, he'd forgotten to mention that he had a magically-related son. Both Loki and Tony laughed at the look on Thor's face when she'd found out. He was in for a tongue-lashing, of the verbal kind. 

"It's not that she minds Harry - instead, they get along really well. No, the issue is that Donner and Blitzen over there didn't think to mention it," Tony explained. 

"I see," Loki said. "So, you mentioned a particular present that Harry got for someone?"

"Ah, yeah. Speaking of, I should probably gather everyone around."

"Allow me," Loki said. "Everyone!"

"Everyone!"

"EVERYONE!"

"I WILL INVADE THIS BLASTED PLANET AGAIN IF YOU ALL DON'T SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO THE TIN MAN," Loki bellowed, frustrated that his initial attempts were ignored.

There was a moment of silence before Clint called out, "How well'd that go for you last time." Harry continued giggling, finding both statements quite funny. 

"Thanks, Dung-o Dude. Right, time to sit down and get to the presents!"

Everyone moved to the couches, Harry practically dragging his dad so that they could get a seat next to the tree. Once everyone was seated, Asgardians included - and, boy, did Thor looked cowed. Whatever his girlfriend said must have been great, Tony thought. He hoped J had been able to record it. 

"Right, so. First present of the Christmas season is… From Harry, to Cap!"

"Harry, I told you, you didn't have to get me anything."

"But, Da-a-ad, I wanted to," Harry said, smiling. 

Tony handed over the envelope, which… What could be inside? It was too big to be a card, but it wasn't a typical present shape, like the other things under the tree.

"Go on, open it," Tony said, sharing a look with Har.

Opening his gift, he said "Wha..." Steve started to speak, wanting to say more, but he couldn't get the words out once he looked at the documents in his hand. In his hands were a formal, legal request for a change of name. 

_ Harry James Potter-Rogers _

"Harry… I..."

"When you first adopted me, I asked if I could keep my last name. It's the only thing I had from my dad. But then… I learned I had magic, because of him. I'll always have that, and it'll always remind me of him. I wanna make sure I've got a reminder for you, too," Harry said, wrapping his arms around his father. 

"Come here," Steve said, pulling Harry as close to him as he could. His tears fell into Harry's hair, ugly-crying and unable to get his emotions under control. Never, in a million years, would Steve have imagined _this_ being his life - when he crashed the plane, Steve was ready to die. Instead, he had a family who stood by his side, a boyfriend whose hand he could hold while he walked down the street, and, best of all, a son who loved him fully and unconditionally. As a child, he'd never imagined having any of those things, and yet, here he was. 

Steve and Harry had talked often about the Potter last name, especially when he'd first been adopted. To him, it was the only real thing he had to tie him to his parents, other than the flash of green light he saw in his nightmares. It was the only thing that he  _ knew _ was theirs, and that, for Harry, the last name was a promise of a life outside of the cupboard. For Harry to be willing to change that, to add Steve's name next to the name of the two people whose memory Harry cherished as much as life itself… 

"You too, Clint. The only reason I didn't write your name down too is 'cause you and Dad aren't married yet," Harry said, motioning for Clint to join the hug. 

"Married," Steve and Clint asked, surprised.

"Come on, everyone knows it's gonna happen. We just don't know when. Clint hasn't even been back to his floor in a month," Harry said, pressed up against his dad's side. 

"You don't know that," Clint started, but he was quickly cut off.

"Yes, we do," everyone else said.

"We're just waiting for one of you to get on one knee, already," Nat said. "Gay marriage is legal in New York, you two should go for it. You know, once you two quit pretending you're not already living together."

"Nat! We haven't even said 'I love you' yet," Clint said, surprised.

"Yes well, get on with it," Loki said. "I haven't even been here in months and I can tell you want to get on one knee. Or maybe it's both knees? I do forget how you Midgardians go about things," he said, with a wink and a smirk.

Both Steve and Clint turned bright red, and Harry's father moved to cover his innocent little ears. "Kid ears!"

"You forget, I'm technically his magical mother, as his birth mother received part of her power through my Patronage. Thor's his magical father - that's why he'd be Harry Thorson in Asgard. I imagine he'd still be Harry Potter, in the wizarding world," Loki said, thinking out loud.

"Guys, can we deal with this later? There are presents," Harry said, laughing from where he was, sandwiched between his father and Clint, both of which were hugging him close. 

～  ～  ～

"That was a very kind gesture, young mage," Loki said. 

Harry didn't even jump, even though he hadn't heard the older warlock enter his room. "It was right," he said, simply.

"You take after your mother, in that regard."

"I do?"

"Yes. I was thinking, since I did not have the foresight to bring a gift, if you would accept stories of your parents instead?"

"How did you know them?"

"I didn't know them, per say. However, I knew of them - every Asgardian who's given their magic in a Patronship - or, as the Midgardians think of it, receiving a Blessing, is able to stay aware of what the recipients are up to, to an extent."

"Wait… If that's true, then how didn't you know who Aunty Nat was?"

"What?"

"I saw the footage of her interrogating you. Don't tell Dad, he doesn't know JARVIS showed it to me. But… You didn't recognise her."

"I did… To a degree. It's how I knew about the things I mentioned."

"But that's not very deep," Harry argued. "I know the scepter you used… it had some kind of mind magic. But… if Asgardians have given power to Midgardians, then… Why would you attack? Especially if you had people on Earth who'd received your… Patronage?"

"That's… Actually, I don't know," Loki admitted, surprised. 

"And… How did you not know I existed?"

"That's a very good question, one I'll need to investigate myself..."

"Because if you knew… Then I don't trust you. But if you didn't know, then I can… I can trust you enough to learn from you," Harry said. 

"Little Mage… Why would you not trust me? What happened to you?"

There were no lies on Loki's face, only concern - and so, Harry shared with Loki the tragic story of his childhood. By the end, Loki's face was contorted - if it was rage, or sorrow, Harry really couldn't tell. 

"Those infernal  _ Muggles _ ," Loki fumed.

"Muggles?"

"Non-magical folks. No wonder Petunia Evans wasn't able to receive Magic… The cow was far-too cold hearted for something so wonderful to ever accept her," Loki raged. "That she would do something so cruel, to a child… Where is she, Harry?"

"Before you go and try and kill her, know that Aunty Nat already dealt with her and Uncle Vernon. I've got no clue where they are," he said, shrugging. "I do have another question, though."

"What is it, child," Loki asked. 

"You said that each of the Avengers had an Asgardian behind them. But… I don't see any of them saying  _ Abracadabra  _ and pulling rabbits out of hats, so where's their magic?"

"First, Harry, I need you to promise never to say that phrase again. And, secondly, if they had a wand, I imagine they would be able to muster some magic. However, their talents express themselves in other ways - for example, Mr. Barton's uncanny ability to see things… it's a form of Sight, or… Divination, the term is, here. While more trained eyes can see the future, or, more accurately, see through Time itself, he is able to see things that others could not, just within his own time. Their magic appeared in their talents, whereas yours manifested as magical power."

"What do you mean, never say that phrase?"

"Harry, Abracadabra was a powerful magical incantation, ages ago. There's a reason non-magical people associate it with magic."

"Oh… Could you teach me?"

Loki was silent for a moment, contemplating how to explain. "First, I must explain why I returned to Asgard, instead of teaching you immediately. Thor, as well… I needed his assistance, researching everything that had happened to your line."

"Ok… What does that have to do with anything?"

"Harry… Your Aunt Nat was not the only person who reeked of Dark magic..."

"It sounds like this is a conversation we should go wake my Dad up for..."

～  ～  ～

Steve and Clint shuffled into Harry's room, concerned. When Harry had barged into his father's bedroom, saying that he needed both of them, immediately, they'd panicked - and, admittedly, been very glad that he'd not entered the room twenty minutes earlier. They'd hurried to get dressed, and then they'd made their way over as quickly as they could, in spite of their exhaustion.

Natasha was already in the room, as was Loki. "What's he doing here," Clint barked out, suddenly very awake.

"Hawky, I know you've got issues with him, but I need everyone here so we can figure out what happened."

"When," Steve asked, confused.

"The night my parents died," Harry said.

"Harry..."

"Dad. I need to hear this."

"Alright. Loki?"

Nodding at the Captain, a grim look flashed over his face before he began. "Harry, first… What do you know of your parents?"

"My uncle always said that my dad was a drunk and my mom was a whore, and that they were both freaks who died in a car accident… I'm getting the feeling freak means something else, though."

"Correct. Harry, your parents were not killed in a car accident. No, they were killed by a deranged madman, who'd attacked you. I… I haven't quite been able to figure out why, not yet, but I believe his name was Thomas Riddle. The Asgardian histories of Midgardian magic users are far less complete than I would like them to be, so I've also been in Wizarding Britain, trying to find out information on the man killed your family. He tried to kill you, as well."

"What," Steve said, eyes flashing with anger. 

"Lily, it seems, that was your mother's name, by the way, she threw herself in front of Harry. When the maniac moved to attack our young mage, here, the man's spell appears to have rebounded. Harry, do you remember the phrase I told you not to say?"

"Of course."

"What was it? And no, it's not a trick - don't say it in the future, but it'll be fine, this one time. Just speak clearly, child."

"Abracadabra."

"Yes. Now, for anyone else in the room, that word is likely totally harmless. None of you are as innately magic as Harry. However, the phrase gives all magic-users pause, as there is a powerful piece of magic that stems from those words. Specifically, the Killing Curse. Harry… Your parents were killed, because this Thomas Riddle character used that spell against them, and then, later, you."

"What?"

"Harry… Your parents didn't die in a car accident, like you were lead to believe. Dear child… Your birth parents were murdered."

"Murdered," Harry asked, his voice small.

"Loki… Can't this wait until he's older?"

"I'm afraid not. You see… There's a dark, evil magic emanating from Harry, one that I've never seen before."

"Harry's evil," Clint asked. "He can't be! He's the best kid there is!"

"He's far from evil. However, the magic used against him is unnatural, and cause for concern. I'll continue to try and learn as much as I can, but… There are forces at play that we don't yet understand."

"Harry..."

"No, Dad. I need to hear this," Harry said, steeling himself.

"What do you think happened?"

"The scar, on your forehead. Harry, I think that's somehow linked to the curse rebounding."

"Is he gone? Riddle, I mean."

"I don't know," Loki said, honestly. "Not even Frigga had heard of the Killing Curse rebounding. There's a chance it did something strange, or was cast incorrectly… But this is new territory for us all."

"Do you know what the Dark Magic around Nat was?"

"Yes, that, I believe I can explain much more clearly. Natasha, you were born as the youngest sister to Lily and Petunia. It appears that she'd been abducted by a woman… one of Riddle's followers. They called themselves the Death Eaters."

"How did I end up with the Red Room then?"

"I believe it was an experimental program. They would kidnap children with magical potential - you had likely manifested earlier than others, and, once, in public. Petunia Dursley, if she's still alive, would know more, most likely. In any case, she left you with the Red Room with the hopes of creating a perfect magical assassin."

"But it didn't work? I can't do magic."

"You can, actually. Your skills as a spy, going unseen, being able to hide, interrogation… That's all fueled by your magic. That's why you're the best - you've got a magical advantage that none of the other girls could compete with."

"So… How did you not notice, when I interrogated you?"

"Harry has a theory about that, actually."

"I do?"

"There are mind-control magicks. He suggested I was put under one such curse, causing me to forget things that I should innately know. For example, why would I willingly attack Midgard if I'd given families here my Blessing? Why would I attack Clinton? While he's got Odin's magic in his veins, and the old man's hardly my favourite person, he's also got the magic of my adoptive mother in him. I love her, why would I want to harm someone she cares for? And Natasha carries my own magic, harming her would be like killing my own daughter. I'm hardly that savage," Loki said.

"That… Huh," Clint said.

"Listen," Steve said. "We've got… a lot to think about, but it can wait for tomorrow, right? This Riddle character isn't here, not now, and we can work on getting Harry ready for whatever he needs tomorrow."

"Agreed."

"Harry… Do you want me and Clint to stay in here tonight?" Steve wouldn't want to sleep alone if he'd found out his parents had been murdered - he couldn't imagine how Harry was feeling.

"Yeah, Dad. Clint. Please..."

Nat and Loki both left, leaving Harry to his father and his… Clint. Nat hoped that Clint would get off his arse and ask Steve soon. Harry was right - it was merely a matter of who would finally  _ propose _ . It didn't matter how little time they'd spent dating - they were soulmates. It was obvious, even if she didn't believe in love. 

As Clint and Steve curled around Harry, protecting him from the outside world, they were trapped in their thoughts. 

Steve thought of the little boy, who'd been trapped under a cupboard due to the hate of his aunt. Of Nat, who'd been taken. Of Lily and James Potter, who'd died trying to save their son. 

Both of them knew one thing - Lily and James Potter had died, so that Harry could have a future. They'd given their lives, so that Harry could live. If it came down to it, both of them would do the same, no questions asked. In honour of their sacrifice, but also, in honour of Harry. 

He  _ would  _ get the future he deserved. 

～  ～  ～

"Alright, little mage. Let's begin," Loki said, three days later. "The first thing I want you to do is try and imagine your magic."

"What do you mean?"

"You have a core, inside of you, that houses the magic you are capable of doing. I'm going to fill the air around you with magic, and I want you to try and find your core and reach out to that magic. You'll need to close your eyes, and meditate on your innate power. It may take a few tries, Harry, so don't be frustrated if you don't get it immediately."

"How will you know when I've got it?"

"The magic around you will glow, once you interact with it. We'll be able to see you cause the magic to concentrate at your core."

"Okay..."

Harry closed his eyes… Wasn't this supposed to be difficult? He could feel the magic wrapped around him like a hug, but… It wasn't centring itself anywhere. He felt it coursing through his body.

"Uh… Loki? Is he supposed to be glowing like that?"

"Um. No? That's not usual, no."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"Probably?"

At that, Harry opened his eyes. He felt fine, if a little tingly. "What's up?"

At that, Loki conjured a mirror. "Take a look."

"Holy shit," Harry yelled.

"Harry! Language!"

"Sorry Dad… But look! I'm all sparkly! I make Tinker Bell look boring! Wait, do you think I can fly?"

Loki just looked at his magical child. The magic was coursing through him, interacting with his magic as just being in the same room as Harry was enough to ignite the spells. However, there was no central place for Harry to focus his magic - no core. Loki had never seen anything like it. Cancelling the spell, Harry's glow faded… But he could still feel his child's magic aura, now that he knew of it.

"You said that wasn't normal," Steve asked, concerned.

"He doesn't… He doesn't have a magical core."

"What?! That sounds bad," Clint said.

"It… He clearly has magic. Otherwise, he wouldn't have glowed like that… But. It's as if he can control the ambient magic..."

"Ok… In non-magic terms?"

"Right. So. Thor and I… and every other magical person you'll meet, we store magic. It exists within us, because we draw it in from the air around us. Without that core, we'd be just as 'normal' as you - that's why your gifts don't manifest magically. Most Asgardians are like that. Thor and I, though, we pull in magic and then bend it to our will, so to speak. Form the magic, like an artisan with clay. Thor's is more rudimentary, being based in the elements, but it's the same principle. However, in Harry's case, it's like he… He almost controlled the flow of the magic, making it so that he didn't  _ need _ a core. He didn't need to pull magic inside of himself, because it simply  _ wanted _ to follow his wishes, instead of needing to be controlled."

"That's… What does that mean?"

"It means that Harry very well may be the most powerful wizard in history. If, somehow, the other two Double-Blessed lines came together there's a chance that Harry's magical sibling would have the same capability, but… I've never seen anything like it. It's likely how he stopped Mjölnir. I've never seen anything like that, either."

"Darcy told me she calls Thor's hammer Mew-mew. I like that name better. Also, it was kinda easy to stop."

"Does that make him dangerous? I know he can do magic when he's upset, but, if he's that powerful..."

"No, I don't think so. Accidental magic is just that - accidental. Yes, he has power, but he's not used it against anyone here, and his relatives are still alive. Unfortunately. I think it just means that, as he learns magic, he'll be able to power his spells far more than the average wizard, or even the average Asgardian magic-user."

"Can I learn how to control it?"

"Of course. Come, we'll spend the next few hours seeing what we can teach you."

Harry, of course, took to magic in a way no one could have ever imagined. Within an hour, he'd completely mastered the first few spells that Loki wanted him to learn. He'd managed to create a ball of light in his palm, get rid of said ball of light, and, much to Loki's amusement, lift Clint up off the ground. It seemed remarkably easy - all Harry had to do was focus on the  _ impact _ he wanted the magic to have, and it took place. Loki taught him incantations, of course, to give him an idea of what he'd be doing, but he found that magic was pretty easy. 

Spells seemed to be a way for adults to make things harder. 

"Alright, Harry. You've done remarkably well today, but we're going to try something extra difficult for your final spell. Do you think you can do that?"

"Sure!"

"Clinton, would you be willing to part with one of your arrows?"

"He's not going to have to stop it, like he did Thor's hammer, right?"

"Wait? Mew-mew? I'm gonna have to stop it again?"

"No, he's going to transform this."

"That's fine," Clint said, tossing over an arrow.

"Alright, now, Harry. I want you to take a good look at this, and imagine it becoming something else. This is some of the hardest magic you can learn, so I want you to focus on a few principles. Do you think that's doable?"

"Sure!"

"Now, there are three main ideas. First, try and think of something of a similar colour. It's easier to transfigure things that are similar in appearance. Second, try and imagine how it's made - you'll be using these same materials in some way. Even if you were to turn this into an owl, at its core, you'd still have an arrow. Does that make sense?"

"So… I'm transforming the idea of the thing, not the soul of the thing?"

"Very astute. Now, the third principle is that magic does not like to follow a transfiguration for long. IT will, at some point, turn back to whatever you've turned it from - unless you find a permanent transfiguration spell. It's unlikely that you'd manage a permanent spell your first try, as they're highly complicated pieces of magic. Even with your skills, I don't think you'll manage it on your first go. Are you ready?"

"Is there a spell you want me to use?"

"Not really. With transfiguration, it's more about seeing it in your mind's eye, I suppose you could say. You need to be able to visualise the transformation, step by step. Transfiguration is a mental magic as much as it is a physical magic."

"Okay..."

Taking a moment, Harry thought about possible things he could do to the arrow. There were so many things that he  _ could _ try, but he wanted to make it something… meaningful. 

Closing his eyes, he imagined what he wanted to see happen. He felt the now-familiar hum of magic in the air, letting him know that he'd been successful. When he opened his eyes, he smiled. 

"All done!"

Loki looked down at the arrow, which had not changed at all. 

"It's okay, Harry. Not everyone can get it their first try."

"But I did!"

"The arrow didn't change, though."

"Yes it did! I changed a property!"

"What did you do?"

"Try and break it."

"It… It won't break!"

"I imagined the molecules getting stronger, so that, no matter how hard you tried, you could never break the arrow. I don't even think Mew-mew could break it," Harry said, giggling. "Dad always complains about how dangerous it is when Hawky breaks an arrow, because it means he can't defend himself as well. This way, it won't break!"

"Aw… Kiddo."

"But… Harry, you're aware that it will go back to being a normal arrow, right?"

"It shouldn't! I asked for it to change into a super-strong arrow. Not to pretend to change into an arrow. That's the main difference, right?"

"Ye… Yes. Yes it is. I think, in our future lessons, we may have to… I'll have to replan the lessons I'd been considering." Casting a quick diagnostic charm, he found that Harry really had managed a perfect transfiguration. "Well Odin's right eye..."

～  ～  ～

Thor, in true Asgardian fashion, decided Harry should learn how to fight, like a warrior. Although a mage in his own right, Thor much preferred physically fighting. Harry had already learned quite a bit with Nat, and Thor found himself quickly beaten. Harry mixed his magic, his smarts, and his ability to fight into an unstoppable combination. 

He was quick, he was smart, and he was… terrifyingly fearless, if you asked Steve. Harry had grown a lot since they rescued him, actually growing to be taller than the average boy his age, but he still knew how to move like his life depended on it. After living with Steve, it appeared his ability to run into a fight rubbed off.

Harry first bound Thor's legs via the magic in the air, then he ran straight at Thor, fast enough that the giant man didn't have time to draw his hammer. He jumped, kicking up higher off Thor's chest, and kicking him squarely in the jaw. In shock, he dropped Mjölnir, which Harry quickly picked up and, hoping for the best, lightly threw at Thor. 

When Thor finally woke up from his battle-induced mini-coma, he was ecstatic.  _ Odin _ , the  _ All-Father, _ apparently deemed Harry worthy of being able to wield Mjölnir! He'd promptly crushed his magical son in a hug, declared him a worthy prince of Asgard, and requested that they quickly find food to feast upon, after such a momentous occasion. 

Harry suggested tacos, so he, Loki, and Darcy ordered Tex-Mex.

"Tell me, young prince, what are these small delicacies?"

"Tacos!"

"A what?"

"A taco! It's a tortilla, then meat, cheese, really whatever you want. It's from… Latin America, I think? But then colonists happened."

"Colonists?"

"Uh… Mean invaders? They didn't respect the local peoples."

Loki nodded. "Yes, that makes sense. That explains a bit about the local situation when it comes to magical schools, actually."

"Oh," Darcy asked. Although not an official Avenger, Harry had decided to adopt Darcy as his older sister. Besides, his Magi-dad, as he called Thor, was dating Jane, and Jane was basically Darcy's older sister so… it worked out. Kinda. Either way, she was allowed to know about Harry's magic.

"Yes. I had to look into magical schooling for Harry. We can talk more about it in a few months, but Harry will need to be given formal instruction. The Midgardian laws require it. It's really a stupid system, in my opinion."

～  ～  ～

While Harry only trained with Thor once a week, he worried with Loki daily. For the following six months, as Harry learned more about magical theory and the principles of magic, he found himself able to do more and more of the Æsirian magic. In truth, he was picking the skills up almost as quickly as Loki had, as a boy. 

However, as much as Harry was able to learn quickly, Loki did not let him learn too much. He knew this day would come, and, so, when an owl landed on the helipad, pecking at the window, he knew it was time.

"Harry, can you do me a favour and go see what the owl wants?"

"Sure, Magi-mom!"

Loki hadn't loved the nickname, but it grew on him. Harry had gone from having no parents, to essentially having four - Clint and Steve were still dragging their feet on getting married, it seemed. He now had a Dad, Almost-Dad (sometimes shortened to Almodad), Magi-Dad, and a Magi-Mom. 

"Wait.. there's a letter here," Harry said, confused. 

"Bring it here, and, while you're doing that, JARVIS, if you could request the parents' presence in the lounge, that would be splendid."

Harry walked over, and Steve and Clint ran into the room, as usual. While they were slowly learning to trust Loki with their son - and, as Harry liked to remind them, if they'd finally propose then maybe he could actually be  _ their _ son one day - but it was still slow going. However, he was helping Harry, and that gave them enough of a reason to tolerate him. 

Thor, being familiar with the idea of what might happen, was a bit less harried. Then again, he was rarely in a hurry, so it wasn't unusual for him to take his time. 

"You took your time," Clint complained. "Lokes wouldn't let us know what's up until you got here."

"My apologies, Brother Clint. Surely you are excited for the opportunities young Harry has, right?"

"What? What's Thor talking about?"

"I was about to get to that," Loki said, holding out the letter that the owl, who was hopping around quite happily after having been given a treat, had brought. 

"Wait… what's with the bird?"

"That, Clinton, would be an owl."

"I know what it is, but why's it here?"

"Wizards. They prefer to use owls… sort of like carrier pigeons, I believe they were. They're the primary form of communication for Wizarding Britain, in any case."

"Wait, so it flew here from England?"

"Scotland."

"Why?"

"That's what we're here to discuss. If you'd stop interrupting, you'd known that."

"Sorry..."

"Right. Now, where was I… Ah, yes. Harry, could you please open the letter?"

"Sure..."

"What does it say?"

"It says… I've been invited to attend… Hogwarts? What's a Hogwarts?"

"That, young mage, would be a school. It's one of the world's premier schools of Institutionalised Magic."

"Institutionalised Magic?"

"Yes. There are several varieties of magic, and, as such, there are many schools," Loki said, conjuring the other mail that Harry had received. "There is Ilvermorny," He said, handing Harry the letters as he spoke. "Beauxbattons, Mahoutokoro," he paused, laughing as Harry's face scrunched up at the name.

"Magic… Place? That's not even great Japanese? Please tell me that's just what foreigners call it."

"It is, don't worry. I've heard the name Mahoukou thrown around. There's also Castelobruxo, Durmstrang, Uagadou, Koldovstoretz, and a few others. Personally, I think the magics taught in Mahoukou and Uagadou are the most interesting, however, due to Midgardian tendencies towards racially-motivated prejudice, both schools, along with Castelobruxo, tend to be more poorly received."

"So… Racism. Magic world has racism. Got it."

"Yes. However, wizards will try and argue it's due to geographic location - particularly the Americans and the western Europeans. They believe they're rather great, because of where they are in the 'civilised' world."

Harry snorted at that, having read about the Trail of Tears only just that morning. "And I have letters from… Hogwarts, Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Ilvermorny?"

"Yes. Of the lot, I think you'd best be looking at Hogwarts, primarily because that's where your birth parents would have likely wanted you to end up."

"Where is that," Steve asked.

"It's a boarding school in Scotland."

"Scotland!?"

"Yes. Wizards, regardless of where, are typically taught magic in more isolated settings. Any of these schools, Ilvermorny included, would have a boarding aspect that Harry would be expected to follow."

"Why can't you teach him everything?"

"Steven. Your child is fast approaching his eleventh birthday. In your efforts to keep him safe, which, I applaud, you've kept him from forming meaningful friendships with people his own age. There's nothing I can't teach him, but even I can't conjure peers for him to outperform."

At the thought of having friends his own age, Harry perked up a bit. It was true - although he'd never complain about it to anyone in the tower, it would be nice to have people he could relate to. His options in the tower were two Asgardians, neither of whom seemed to be able to figure out basic household appliances, science geniuses, like Jane and Bruce, Darcy, who… was her own category, entirely, his out-of-time Dad, his assassin aunt and Hawky, or a multibillionaire manchild. He hadn't really interacted with other kids since he left Dudley.

Watching at how excited Harry seemed to get, Steve knew he'd have to give in. "Alright. So… Boarding school it is, then?"

"I would recommend it," Loki said. "Personally, I'd have preferred he attend an Intuitive Magic school, however, they are rather wary of others. Given their history, I cannot blame them."

"Intuitive Magic?"

"It's a similar form of magic to what we've been learning. Native peoples of this planet use magic differently from the colonials. The schools in Uganda and Japan are notable due to their mixing of the two styles. Castelobruxo, although located in Brazil, was founded by colonials. Durmstrang is far darker than I think Harry would enjoy. Koldovstoretz suffered under anti-Russian sentiment, and, while it used to be fantastic, has had a hard time recovering. Ilvermorny is… Acceptable. However, as I mentioned, Harry's parents attended Hogwarts. It's also where the majority of Blessed Children end up, regardless of what Durmstrang seems to claim."

"So… Institutionalised Magic is weaker than Intuitive Magic?"

"Racism sucks, kid," Clint said. 

"You have the capacity for both, and whatever you do not learn, I will be able to teach you," Loki assured. "However, given your status as a Brit and American, you'd be hard-pressed to get acceptance to those schools. They regularly face other wizards invalidating their craft, and, as such, have become quite protective of it."

"Wait… These are all addressed to Harry Potter… But I changed my name?"

"Yes. You, young Harry, possess three names. In the non-magical world, you're Harry Potter-Rogers. At least, now. However, as you never registered the change with the goblins of Gringotts, the wizarding world will only know you as Harry Potter. And then, on Asgard, you're Harry Thorson. They may try and give you a new first name, like Haraldr, which is the most common Asgardian equivalent, or Hereweald, as you're an Anglo-Saxon, but that is for you to decide."

"Okay… So, what now?"

"You pick a school."

"I thought you said Hogwarts would be the best?"

"I did. Personally, I think you'd also enjoy the Japanese school, but, given that your Japanese skills aren't exactly common knowledge, I imagine they did not invite you as they thought you unable to speak the language."

"So I get to pick?"

"Of course. Harry, I'd never take the choice away from you, and I doubt your other parents would either."

"Dad?"

"I can't say I'm excited that you'd be so far away, but… I want to make sure you learn as much as you can. If you pick Hogwarts, then you know I'll support you."

"Alright… If I pick Hogwarts, does that mean I'll be in the same school my parents went to?"

"It does," Thor nodded. Although less familiar with the system than Loki, he knew James Potter had immensely enjoyed his time at Hogwarts. He and Loki had debated which one of them would ultimately give James the Blessing - ultimately, they'd agreed that if James went into Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, then Thor would do it. Slytherin or Ravenclaw would mean Loki would have the honour. When he'd been sorted Gryffindor, Thor had celebrated for three days. 

"Alright. Hogwarts it is," Harry said, smiling. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! This story is officially over! Up next... Year One of Hogwarts! Expect that one by Saturday :) For those of you who're subscribed to this story, I'll add the sneak-peak chapter here, so you get notified :)
> 
> Admittedly, there's a chance I might rewrite this chapter... It's okay, now. But, if, later on, I think I can do it better justice, then I will :)
> 
> Thoughts??? 
> 
> Also - parting question - Where's Harry going to sort? :D
> 
> What other characters do you expect to see pop up next story?


	8. A Bonus Preview!

For the first nine years of his life, Draco did not just learn from his mother – no, she would not reduce her son to the simple status of a pupil. Instead, Draco learned with her, as an equal, pairing his insatiable appetite for knowledge with an unwavering desire to achieve. With his mother’s love to guide him, and her steady hand beside him, Draco had become fearlessly inquisitive.

That lack of fear, however, was a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! REady for the next story? :D


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